


Born on a Border

by cheyla



Series: The Born Series [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Character Death, Male-Female Friendship, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 38,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4343525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheyla/pseuds/cheyla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started out as a simple journey to complete a mission. After an attack, it becomes much more and Naruto finds himself questioning who he is-a Konoha shinobi or just a fox?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

On the forest floor, there was no room to move, let alone walk or run. Almost every inch was taken up by larger than normal tree roots, hidden fissures, mud holes, and thorns. Up in the treetops, it wasn't much better. The normal tree branches usually used by shinobi were covered by a sickly-colored moss that was slippery enough that even chakra to the feet wouldn't stick and allow for support. The next best choices of branches were layered with spikes that even the most untrained civilian could tell were poisonous. That only left the smaller, thinner branches in the very tops of the trees as stepping points. Even then, half of the branches were brittle enough that even the slightest pressure caused them to snap in half.

The Untraveable Forest was aptly named. Yet, still people tried to cross it. No one had succeeded in many years. Even the best shinobi went missing in this forest.

A teenage boy growled angrily as yet another branch snapped under his foot as he tried to land on it. He lost balance and felt himself falling but with a small burst of energy and chakra and he was back on track.

"Where are we going, Pervy-sage?" He called to the man up ahead, the one who was leading the way.

Both of the travelers looked and dressed very strangely for the area. The man in the lead was older, with long spiky white hair that looked more like a headdress than hair. He was bulkier and was wearing a grey shirt and pants. Underneath the shirt and pants was a set of mesh armor and over the entire outfit was a sleeveless red coat. It was the facial markings that stood out the most though. Two red lines streaked down his cheeks, starting right below his eyes and ending at his jaw.

The second was the boy. He stood out like an eyesore in the forest, wearing nothing but a bright orange jumpsuit. The color orange clashed horribly with the greens and browns of the forest. He stood out even more with his spiky orange-blonde hair, whisker-like scars on his cheeks, and bright blue eyes. He was easily spotted.

"You'll see." The white-haired man replied, calling back over his shoulder. "And don't call me that!"

The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Never tells me anything." The boy grumbled under his breath.

His comment was overheard but the older man decided not to comment back to his charge. It was best if the boy was left unaware. If he knew where they were going and what they were doing he would only be loud with his complaints. He would still be loud no matter what, as the boy had no understanding of the word 'subtle', but he wouldn't have anything specific to complain about.

If they hadn't been running late in the first place, Jiraiya would have never considered taking Uzumaki Naruto through the Untraveable Forest. However, it was very important that he complete this mission and to do so meant crossing the Untraveable Forest to do that on time.

The forest was finally beginning to thin out and Naruto sighed in relief as he noticed that it was getting easier to travel. Jiraiya, on the other hand, had a very bad feeling. They were nowhere near the edge of the forest, and from what he had heard the entire forest was dense and thick, from the start to finish. Why would it thin out in the middle, which was normally the thickest part of any forest?

"Naruto, stop!" Jiraiya called, just barely spotting the wires up ahead. They were so thin that even the most trained shinobi would have a hard time seeing them. The two travelers skidded to a stop and Jiraiya shivered as he spotted wire just centimeters away from his foot. They had nearly run straight into a trap.

"What's wrong?" Naruto questioned, not daring to move. He didn't see the traps but that was unsurprising.

"Traps." Jiraiya said shortly. "All over the place." Jiraiya examined the scene further. In front of him, for as far as he could see, there were traps all over the place, covering both the forest floor and the treetops. It was a very intricate layout. As far as Jiraiya could tell, there was no going forward.

Or to the sides, he concluded, spotting similar setups on either side. They would have to go back, losing valuable time.

"We have to head back." The sannin stated, looking grim. He turned and stopped in his tracks.

A woman was blocking their way. Her face was thin, with sharp angles, her eyes far apart, narrow and a cold black. A cruel smile was placed upon unusually thin lips. Her skin was pale with a sickly green tint to it and she looked to be about Naruto's age. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. Were those scales tattooed onto her skin? Her hair was a deep brown, almost black and fell to her middle back. It was tied back in a way that Naruto recognized as similar to how Hyuuga Neji tied his hair. She was wearing a tight green jacket that closed with fang like buttons. She was also wearing a black skirt that had a slit in it that went all the way up to the belt portion, causing the skirt to fall to one side. The hems on both the jacket and the skirt had white borders. Gold bracelets decorated her wrists.

There was one word that could describe her overall appearance. Snake-like.

"Finally someone that looks like they'd be able to play." She said in a soft drawl.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto demanded, coming to stand next to Jiraiya. He had kunai in his hands, ready to be used at a second's notice. The girl's smile turned into a smirk.

"What does it matter?" She asked in a coy manner. "It always ends the same way—me devouring your bodies."

Jiraiya was disgusted. This girl reminded him of a younger, female version of Orochimaru. The world only needed one.

"Naruto…"Jiraiya murmured softly. Naruto straightened up and nodded.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." The blonde made the appropriate hand signs and every spot possible was soon taken over by a shadow clone. The snake girl didn't even blink, causing Naruto to growl. She raised her hands in the air, as if she was preparing to summon something. Jiraiya tensed.

"Come!" She called. "Come and kill!"

What Jiraiya and Naruto originally passed off as vines on the tree trunks began to move, to writhe and twist. They revealed themselves to be something other than vines—they were snakes. Shadow clones were rapidly dispelled as the slithering creatures lunged and snapped their jaws, biting through smoke in an attempt to find the real Naruto. The girl tossed her head back and laughed.

"Yes, you do know how to play," she commented. "But no one has ever lasted longer than five minutes against my babies."

"This girl is unhinged." Naruto grumbled as he started slashing at the beasts that were able to get close enough. He was only able to land thin, non-fatal cuts. The snakes were fast, almost as fast as two trained shinobi. Naruto hissed as a snake managed to graze his skin. It didn't break skin but the venom lacing the fangs began to burn away his skin. Naruto gritted his teeth but kept on slashing away with his kunai. He threw out a couple shuriken, hoping that at least some of them would hit but none did. The snakes were too fast.

Jiraiya was faring much better than Naruto but not by much. He pooled chakra into his hand as he saw a hoard of snakes coming straight for him.

"Rasengan!" He cried and drove the ball of spinning chakra directly into the center of the hoard. The snakes in the middle disintegrated into ash and the rest blew to pieces, creating a gruesome scene.

At the sight of her snakes being blown to pieces, the girl stopped her laughing and let out an unearthly, animalistic scream.

"You dare!" She screeched. "You dare break the most sacred rule!"

"Sacred rule?" A Naruto yelled. "What sacred rule?"

The girl's eyes narrowed until they were mere slits.

"A fox like you should know." She said in a low, dangerous voice. "Only an animal can kill an animal and only a shinobi can kill a shinobi."

The Narutos kept slicing away, along with the Toad Sannin, trying to take out as many snakes as possible. The girl continued to screech as they killed snake after snake, dispelling most by cutting them in half. Naruto's skin burned where the venom had landed and the burning seemed to be spreading.

The two Konoha shinobi pushed their way closer and closer to the girl as they cut through the masses, having realized very soon in the battle that the only way to stop the snakes was probably to take out the young woman.

She wasn't going to make it easy though.

As if sensing their tactic, the teenage girl backed up further and further. One of the Narutos gaped in amazement before he was poofed out of existence by a snake closing its jaws around his torso. The real Naruto's eyes widened as the observations of his clone entered his mind.

"Those tattoos on her body are moving!" He called to Jiraiya, who had burned a snake to a crisp using a fire jutsu, only to be bitten by another one. He hissed and hoped that the snake wasn't venomous.

"They are tattoos." The girl commented. Both Jiraiya and Naruto could only stare as her eyes glowed, her jaw unhinged and fangs emerged. Her body lengthened and her arms and legs melted into her body.

"She's turning into a snake." Jiraiya whispered, horrified at the monster that was forming, before having to dodge as the girl-turned-snake lunged at him. He pushed Naruto out of the way and was forced back as he dodged repeated strikes. Jiraiya felt himself stepping on a wire trap. Surprisingly it didn't go off.

A mine, he decided and pivoted, not wanting to step off the wire, lest the trap and the others around it go off.

"Stop dancing!" Naruto called, running full out towards the largest snake in the group, the snake that once was a girl. A rasengan was in his hand, ready to be delivered.

The girl was distracted away from Jiraiya and, with a casual flick of her tail, sent Naruto flying. She slithered her way towards Naruto, a new target in mind.

Jiraiya remained where he was, blocking the occasional attack from a snake. There were nowhere near as many attacks as there were before though. Most of the smaller snakes had disappeared deeper into the forest. Only a third remained of the original amount, and out of those, three-fourths were attacking the Naruto clones. It seemed that they judged Naruto more of a threat than the Toad Sannin. Interesting.

Naruto gulped as he saw the large female snake heading towards him, fangs bared. He attempted to roll out of the way but unknown to him, his foot was stuck in a fissure that had been hidden before.

There was a sickening crack and pain shot up Naruto's leg. He let out a loud curse but that was soon cut off by fangs sinking into his other leg. The snake girl didn't stop there. She withdrew her fangs and sank them into Naruto's abdomen, causing the boy to cry out in pain. Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly passed out, unable to take any more.

A large thud and the sounds of traps being set off drew the snake's attention away from Naruto and back to Jiraiya, who was standing proudly on a very large toad. Gamabunta.

The toad and the snake attacked each other promptly, not using any time for verbal attacks. Gamabunta saw Naruto's body convulsing and quickly determined that venom had been injected into his blood system. The strength of it was currently unknown, which meant neither Gamabunta nor Jiraiya was sure if Kyuubi would be strong enough to heal Naruto this time.

Jiraiya couldn't tell what ended the battle. One minute there was the typical battle scene and then the snakes were just gone. The larger ones could be seen slithering away and the smaller ones, he assumed, did the same under the cover of the forest floor and its many plants. There was no sign of where the snake girl could have gone.

Not even giving her another thought, Jiraiya rushed over to Naruto. The boy was still convulsing as the venom sped through his body but he was still alive which was always a good thing. The only thing Jiraiya could was set the broken bones before he saw the distinct red aura of Kyuubi's chakra. When he saw it, he knew that the healing process had started.

Only a couple doses of antidotes were needed to flush the venom out of Jiraiya's system. He had been fortunate. The snakes weren't very poisonous, which was odd in itself. Why use nonvenomous snakes in battle?

When twilight came about, Naruto still hadn't healed completely enough to be moved safely. His mentor resigned himself to spending the night in the forest. He would have to get firewood though. It might attract the snake-girl back to them but it was a risk that he needed to take. A fire would most likely scare off the other creatures that were lurking in this forest, so it was needed.

The white-haired man got to his feet with a small sigh. He summoned a smaller toad to keep an eye on Naruto and alert him if things took a turn for the worse. With that done, and his mind partially eased, the older man set out in the southern direction on a search to find some usable firewood.

Not long after he had left, three figures emerged from the north. All three figures were dressed in black for night travel and all three were wearing masks that had snarling cats painted on them in different colors. A black hood covered their heads and hair. One of them, the one with red paint on her mask, bent down to examine the traps that had been set off.

"This trap layout could only come from our village." She murmured. "There was no reason for our shinobi to be out here though." Her companions shifted nervously.

"Has one of our shinobi gone rogue?" The tallest one, a male with blue paint on his mask, asked. "Our village wouldn't necessarily know seeing as a majority of the clans live outside the village. The leaders wouldn't tell the Soshikage either. There's not a lot of trust in our system." He pointed out.

His comment drew harsh laughs from the original speaker, the one who had inspected the traps.

"Not a lot of trust indeed." She agreed.

"A snake, a fox, and someone who has obtained a stolen scroll." The third person, a woman with green paint on her mask, supplied, examining the entire scene, not just the traps like her teammate was doing. Her comment drew a hiss from both her teammates. The stolen scrolls were a sore subject for all the shinobi in their village, her teammates among them.

"Which scroll?" The man asked in a tight voice, just barely managing to suppress his anger.

"Toad scroll. We should take the boy and interrogate him to see what he knows."

In unison, the three turned to stare at Naruto, who was still unconscious.

"He's an outsider!" The girl in the painted red mask was horrified and shocked. "We can't bring an outsider into the village. The clans would be up in arms."

"He's also a fox." Her teammate with the green mask pointed out. "If the fox clan finds out that we came across one of their own, one that was injured, and did nothing, that may just be what drives them to accept the protection of the wolf clan. That's the last thing our clan needs, Akahana."

Akahana snarled under her breath. She turned away from her teammates.

"Fine. Grab him and let's go. I want to get back. You can deal with the questions then, Yuri."

Akahana leapt up high, landing on a tree branch almost directly above her. She landed softly, only the faintest whisper telling where she had landed. Yuri looked at her other teammate, seeing what he would do.

"Izo?" She asked quietly. He sighed.

"Grab him Yuri. I'll let the Soshikage know of the situation."

Yuri approached the blonde haired boy slowly, not sure just how much he had healed already. She could hear Izo using his headset to communicate with their village that was only a few miles off. They wouldn't have far to travel.

"Shoo." She said, shooing off a tiny frog and baby snake that were both watching the boy closing. The toad croaked unhappily at the sight of the snake and bounded off. The baby snake hissed at Yuri before slithering off in the opposite direction as the young toad.

Gamakichi, once out of sight of the three strangers disappeared in a poof of smoke, wanting to find his boss as soon as possible.

"Jiraiya! Come quick. It's bad!" He cried, once finding the summoner. "Some people came and took Naruto away."

Jiraiya felt his stomach sink at the news.


	2. Chapter 2

When Naruto awoke, he could instantly tell that he was in the hospital. He had visited friends and spent time in some enough that he could instantly recognize the scent. All hospitals had the same smell—clean and sterile with slight under scents of death and disease. Any shinobi with a decent amount of field training could recognize the look and smell of death. Once experienced, it was something unforgettable. Naruto still had nightmares about the day Haku and Zabuza died.

Reluctantly, Naruto opened his bright blue eyes, preparing himself for the sea of pure white he was about to see.

That being said, he was very surprised when the color white didn't burn his eyes. Instead, the walls were painted a light, earthy brown and were covered in murals. In the room was only the bed, a table, a drip that was connected to Naruto via IV, and a cat.

Naruto blinked and stared at the cat, which was curled into a ball and seemed to be sleeping. After a few minutes, it seemed to sense his staring at it and opened its eyes slowly, as if it was such a great hassle to wake up. It was odd to see a cat in a hospital. The medics in Konoha put up a fuss whenever an animal entered their hospital, even if it was a summon like Pakkun. Something about it being unhygienic or some crap like that.

Naruto frowned but ignored it. He reached over to tug the IV out of his arm. He didn't need it and it felt uncomfortable.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." A male voice commented, causing Naruto to jerk and look around wildly. He automatically reached for a kunai only to find that his pouch wasn't where it normally was.

Finding no obvious source of where the voice, Naruto's gaze landed on the feline who was still staring at him. Blue eyes narrowed. A summon? That had to mean a shinobi was nearby.

"Oi, neko-san, where am I?" He demanded. The cat's only response was to yawn and close its eerie yellow eyes. Naruto growled but stopped abruptly as a young woman came into the room. She faltered as Naruto turned his gaze on her and shifted her gaze downwards to the ground.

She was a very pretty woman but her way of dressing screamed kunoichi, instantly making Naruto very cautious of her. She was wearing a tank dress that fell to knee length and a mesh undersuit. The dress was a pale green with a pink border. Both sides of the dress had slits that started from the ends and went to her hips. There was no headband that signified her allegiance to a certain village, making Naruto even more cautious. Her hair was a silky black that hung in straight sheets down her back. Her skin was deeply tanned and her eyes were a green-yellow with black pupils that were larger than normal. They also were slightly larger than normal and set further apart.

"Good morning." She said quietly, coming to the bedside to check Naruto's pulse. He instinctively flinched away from her touch, but she ignored the flinch and continued on with her job. She frowned slightly as she took notice of the slower than average pulse and the pale tone to the normally tanned skin. There was a small amount of venom still fighting its way through the system.

"Honorable patient, I will have to leave the IV in for a bit longer." She informed him. "Not all the venom is out of your system."

Naruto blinked. Honorable patient? He had never heard a medic call someone  _that_  before.

"I don't need it." He insisted. "My body will take care of it on its own." Well, Kyuubi would.

"Honorable patient, I would not recommend removing it." The woman still refused to look Naruto in the eye but her voice was firm and Naruto knew it would be a fight to get her to reconsider. Her next comment made Naruto freeze.

"Not even Kyuubi can heal all wounds."

Naruto growled and jerked his wrist out of her grasp.

"Who are you, where am I, and how do you know about Kyuubi?" He demanded angrily. "You're not Akatsuki are you?"

The kunoichi hesitated, as if reluctant to answer him. Her eyes flickered to the door, as if to check to see if anyone was listening in.

"Kyuubi has a very significant chakra residue." She said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I am Yuri and I work here part-time. I have been trained as a healer."

She paused, and then continued.

"As for your other questions, which I'm sure you'll have, I am not the one to answer them."

Naruto held back a snarl. He hated when things were kept from them.

"I, however, can answer them." A cool voice came from the doorway. The woman, Yuri, turned and inclined her head slightly to the trio standing in the doorway. There was a man at the forefront. He had a very familiar face, but Naruto couldn't place it. He had spiky, long auburn hair that was tied back and was wearing a white gi with red hakama. His eyes were a light brown, almost amber. To his left was a redheaded woman that was wearing a kimono that was cut off at the knees. Her eyes were the same color as the man's. She gave off a matronly air but her sharp gaze reminded Naruto of Tsunade. Definitely not someone to mess with. On his right was another woman, this one having shaggy brown, shoulder length hair and dressed in the same manner as Yuri.

Yuri bowed to the three and moved away from Naruto. The brown-haired woman watched her through narrow eyes.

"Thank you for taking over for me, healer-san. I was just coming to collect neko-sama." Yuri said in a voice that revealed nothing. The woman gave a curt nod.

"Of course, healer-san." She replied. "I shall make sure our honorable patient is taken care of. You should go home and rest, to restore your chakra."

One thing Naruto was fairly sure of now was that, wherever he was, the people were sure polite. Too polite. It rubbed him the wrong way. Being too polite made a person fake.

Yuri quickly left, eyes on the ground the entire time. The cat that had been lying on the ground gave a small sigh as it woke up and padded after Yuri, muttering under its breath. Naruto swore he heard it mention something about foxes and annoyances.

The shaggy haired woman took her place besides Naruto, checking his vitals as Yuri had done. Like Yuri, she didn't remove the IV. Naruto held back a sigh. He wished they would take it out soon.

No words were exchanged until the brown-haired woman nodded to the other two and left the room. Then the man cleared his throat and offered a small smile to Naruto.

"It has been a long time since the master of Kyuubi was in the village boundaries." The man began. "I was only a small child when Kyuubi broke through our barrier to the outside, stricken with grief over loosing his last master. An  _amniael_  without a master is a dangerous thing, especially to the outside, but the Soshikage at the time refused to send any of our clan out to retrieve Kyuubi."

"What are you going on about, old man?" Naruto demanded, confused beyond belief. What the heck was an amniael anyways?

"Kyuubi was born and raised in this village and worked with the shinobi he was bonded to keep the village hidden. Then the shinobi, who he had become very close with, was killed in a coup and he left. He nearly destroyed the barrier as he did. It hasn't been until just recently that the barrier was fully repaired. We suspect the only reason it has been fully repaired is because he is back in the village."

"Look old man, I don't care about any of this." Naruto snapped. "I just want to know where the hell I am!"

Both the man and the woman gave him disapproving looks.

"You are in the Village Hidden by the Animals." The woman said in a stern voice. "My husband is the leader of the fox clan, Uzu Michio and I am Maki Hisano. Now tell us your name so we can know who is Kyuubi's new partner."

Naruto blinked. Village Hidden by the Animals? Another shinobi village? According to Jiraiya, there was no shinobi village anywhere close to the Untraveable Forest. There was no need for one.

Then it hit him. Uzu Michio. Maki Hisano. Uzu. Maki.

The blonde gulped. This conversation was going to get a lot more awkward.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto fidgeted as the gazes on him sharpened slightly. He didn't deal well with awkward situations. Then the red-haired woman, Hisano, gave a small, tight smile.

"Uzumaki, hm?" She said in a strained voice. "The last person to use that name was Kushina and she left the village a long time ago to go after Kyuubi, despite orders not to. She believed that bringing him back would bring great honor to the Clan of the Kitsune, and make it so that the Clan could represent itself, instead of by others."

Upon receiving an angry look from her husband, the blonde Michio, she stopped talking but threw him an irritated look to show that she wasn't happy by his warning her to be careful with what she said. However, it wasn't like the boy really understood what she had said, if the faint look of confusion in his eyes was anything to go by.

Naruto had no idea how to respond to Hisano's revelation. He didn't know this woman Kushina, at least not personally, but she carried the same name as him. That meant there was a high possibility that she was a relative but due to the bitter, strained tone of Hisano's voice, Kushina wasn't a fond memory. That might cause some complications further on for Naruto, if these people did turn out to be family.

Family. Naruto wasn't sure how to feel about that. He had never had a family before. The Sandaime and the shinobi of Konoha had refused to tell Naruto anything about his parents, not even their names. The shinobi had only feigned ignorance when he asked and the Sandaime said that he would know more when the time was right, whatever that meant. Naruto had always felt like an outsider amongst his peers that were surrounded by families, never knowing how it felt. Now that he possibly had family, in a village far outside Konoha, proved that he truly was an outsider. For all he knew, there was no Konoha blood running within his veins.

No one in the room spoke for the longest time. It seemed that Hisano and Michio also could not think of anything to say as well.

"So," Naruto began awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with the arm that wasn't hooked up to the IV. He gave an awkward smile. "What happens next?"

He was met once again with disapproving looks and laughed nervously. It was like they didn't want him asking questions. Or maybe there was some rule that he was breaking and just didn't know it. With his luck, it could go either way.

"We are trying to keep your presence in the village a secret." Michio explained. "Many of the shinobi here would not welcome your presence here. Strangers are very much distrusted and unwelcome. As of right now, the only people in the village that are aware of your being here are us, the two healers, and the team that brought you in. Once the venom is out of your system, you will be brought to the Clan's compound and then we shall decide from there what happens."

His voice left no room for argument. Hisano nodded once in agreement and looked back at the door, as if to make sure no one was listening in. They were a paranoid bunch, in Naruto's opinion.

"I can leave right now." He said in an insistent voice. He didn't want to be in the hospital and he didn't want to wait any longer to find out his fate. "I don't need this thing in my arm. I'll be fine without it."

Naruto didn't see Hisano move but the next thing he knew, his head was smarting from a blow he had received. Michio winced at the loud crack that resounded from his wife's hard hit but couldn't help but smirk. The boy had no idea of what he had just gotten himself into. Hisano was very strict when it came obeying healers.

Naruto glared at Hisano who glared right back. A fan was held in one of her small hands, still folded up and ready to be used again.

"You have no training in the healing arts, which means you are incapable to say whether or not you are healed. Only a qualified healer will make that decision." She snapped.

"So you just hit me with a fan?" Naruto cried. "Great idea, obaa-chan! Hit the invalid and lengthen his recovery."

Hisano's response was to hit him again.

"Don't call me that and stop acting like a child. You'll be fine. The hit was only to enforce the lesson. I've found the most effective way for a shinobi to learn is through pain."

Naruto growled and glared at the older woman, but wisely said nothing. He only rubbed the place where he had been hit. Hisano sat back, but she kept the fan out as a clear warning should the boy attempt anything.

The Soshikage of the Village Hidden by the Animals studied the forms on his desk, seeming to ignore the shinobi standing directly in front of him. He actually was aware of every movement the shinobi made, even those caused by his breaths. Not that they were very big breaths. The shinobi standing in front of the Soshikage held himself perfectly still, not so much as twitching. The shinobi of the Village were known to be extremely paranoid and even the smallest movement could be taken as a threat.

The Soshikage thought of what he could possibly do about the situation presented to him but he ultimately knew that there was only one option. He had to summon the heads of the clans. He looked at the masked shinobi and nodded slightly.

"Go." He ordered, green eyes narrowed. "Not a word."

The shinobi, a boy whose face was hidden by a blue-marked mask, nodded and stepped backwards until he was out of the room. It was only after the door had closed again that he breathed a little easier.

"Well?" A cool voice asked. The male shinobi turned and faced one of his teammates who had waited outside the office for him.

"There was only one option." He replied in a voice that revealed nothing. "You'll know what happens as things move along, I'm sure." It wasn't a question. The smaller shinobi, clearly a female by her figure, nodded.

"Which team do you think they'll put him on?" She asked slyly as they left, as if the decision had been made. Her partner didn't say anything for a long while, but she wasn't expecting an answer right away. She had never received an immediate answer before, so she had learned never to expect one.

"They'll put him with the dragons. Kotori will become leader and he'll be the new trap-setter." There was no doubt. Every move and action that could possibly happen in the future regarding the strange kitsune's fate had already been calculated and evaluated. The pair was sure of what was to come.

Naruto, Michio and Hisano had fallen into a tense conversation of small talk, filled by a lot of awkward silences. Naruto was still smarting over the smacks he had received, glaring at the fan that was now resting on the foot of the bed. He was having a hard time adjusting to the way his two elders talked. It was extremely polite and diplomatic. Compared to them, Naruto felt like a crude barbarian.

A scratching at the door, which had long been closed by Michio, broke one of the silences that the trio had fallen into. Hisano grabbed the fan off the bed and cautiously opened the door, opening the fan as she did. Naruto caught a glimpse of metal ridging, sharpened to kill. A cat trotted in, ignoring Hisano and her fan-turned-weapon. It padded over to Michio, whose eyes narrowed. He was quite familiar with this feline. There was only one reason it left the Soshikage's side.

"The Council has been summoned. Bring him." The feline said in a female-like voice, before disappearing in a poof of smoke. Michio and Hisano traded concerned looks. Naruto looked between the two, confused.

"Is this a bad thing?" He asked densely and winced as the fan made contact with his head again.

"Don't be obtuse." Hisano let a snarl into her voice. "If the Council wants you, then that means they are going to decide whether you live or die."

Naruto gulped.

"I thought nobody was supposed to tell!" He yelped. "Do they really have to decide that now?"

Michio turned his serious gaze on Naruto, who cringed back. That look reminded him of Kakashi-sensei when he was faced with a difficult decision.

"If the Soshikage has called the Council, then we must respond." He commented in a grave voice. "No information remains secret here for long. Now get that needle out of your arm and let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Being scrutinized by the Council was quite an intimidating experience for Naruto Uzumaki. Not only was he being scrutinized by some of the strangest looking shinobi he had ever come across, but the animals that accompanied them were also judging him.

Michio stood next to Naruto, face void of any emotion. He looked straight ahead at the largest chair in the circular room, the only chair that wasn't occupied.

The Council Hall was sort of like an arena, Naruto decided. Where he and Michio were standing was the focus of the room, where battles could have been fought. Naruto tried not to examine the stains on the floor—stains that were obviously bloodstains. All the seats in the room were elevated higher, to give a better viewing point.

Each seat was currently occupied by a shinobi and the animal that the Clan represented. Hisano had taken Michio's place as the head of the Kitsune Clan. She was seated between the Wolf Clan and the Cat Clan. Other animals being represented by the clans were the Eagles, the Dragons, the Songbirds, the Snakes, the Dogs, the Bears, the Rats, the Deer, the Insects, the Monkeys, and a couple more.

All in all, there were a lot of people staring at Naruto.

He looked back at the chair Michio was staring at and jumped slightly. It was no longer unoccupied. Now, a man sat in the chair, looking slightly bored. Behind him, lining the wall, stood ten shinobi.

The man in the chair had shaggy auburn hair that fell around his face like a mane. His face was leathery looking, with many wrinkles that were partially covered up by the scruff that outlined his chin and jaws. His eyes were green and had a feline-like shape to them.

The shinobi behind him were dressed all in black. Even their heads and faces were covered. The masks covering their faces reminded Naruto of the ANBU he had occasionally seen in Konohagakure. The only thing that was different was the colors of paint on the masks. All of the shinobi stood at attention and were perfectly still. Not even the animals at their feet moved.

"Let's begin." The mane-covered man said in a sharp voice. "As everyone is now aware, there is a stranger in our midst. I have been told that he is the host to the Kyuubi no Kitsune, an _amniael_  that left our village many years ago. The stranger was brought to our midst by the neko team who informed me that the scene looked like he had been attacked by one of our shinobi. Soon after he was brought to our village, the barrier was fully repaired. His fate is in your hands, Council."

It was silent as the Council members took everything in and then all hell broke loose. Each Clan leader was trying to make him or herself heard above all the others. Quite a few times, Naruto heard the suggestion that he be killed. Then the leader of the Deer clan stood up. He gazed at the auburn-haired man.

"Soshikage-sama," he began respectfully, "Why do we not hear what the neko team has seen? After all, they have a gift for predicting what will happen."

The room quieted down at his comment. The Soshikage looked back at the shinobi standing against the wall. He nodded slowly and one of the shinobi came forward. The form was feminine and there was green paint on the cat-shaped mask.

"With all due respect to the Deer Clan and the rest of the clans, we cannot do that." She said quietly and deferentially. "We do not have a gift for predicting the future. We are just able to analyze what has been said and done and apply that to the current situation."

It took all of Naruto's restraint to not point and shout in surprise. He knew that voice. It was Yuri!

Another shinobi stepped forward.

"Besides, who is to say that once we tell you what will happen that it will actually happen. The final decision rests in the Soshikage's hands and cats are…unpredictable." Her voice was cold and sly, made all that more menacing by the red paint on her mask. Her comment drew wary looks from the Council members and some laughed nervously.

The two kunoichi stepped back and nothing more was said. The auburn-haired man that Naruto now recognized as the Soshikage leaned forward in his chair.

"So what are the options the Council has come up with?" He asked.

"Death." A reptilian-like man said firmly, a snake curled around his neck. A few others nodded in agreement with him.

"Removal of the boy and the Kitsune Clan from the village. The Kitsunes are more trouble than they're worth." That came from a small woman with long legs and arms. A monkey sat at her feet, holding her hand gently but protectively, like a mother with a child.

"Don't let the boy leave." This time it was an actual dog that spoke up. His ears were perked forward. "Even I can tell that it's only a matter of time before the Kyuubi no Kitsune breaks free of the boy, if he remains without the proper training. If he leaves, I suspect that the barrier will shatter for good. For the good of the Village, he needs to remain here until he and Kyuubi can truly become a pair."

"Train the boy?" The Soshikage lost his bored look and became more interested. "Is that what you're saying dog-sama? Train the boy and give him our secrets?"

None of the Council members looked pleased. The Soshikage looked at Hisano in a sly manner.

"And what does the Kitsune Clan have to say about this?" He asked. "After all, your Clan is the one that will be directly affected by this boy."

"When has the Kitsune Clan ever had a say?" Hisano replied, not looking at the Soshikage. "Kitsunes were born from a Wolf and a Cat and we still look to both of them for final judgments." There was a bitter tone to her voice. The Soshikage gave her a patronizing smile and turned to the Wolf Clan. She was scowling at him and the wolf beside her had his hackles up and teeth bared.

"The way I see it, Soshikage-sama, is that there are three teams behind you, only two of which the boy can join. One is the neko team, which gives the Cat Clan more control over the boy. The other is the flier team, which the boy clearly isn't suited for because the last time I checked, foxes can't fly. However, to avoid a civil war, the option is to put the boy with the fliers, however unsuited he may be for that team. If you wish to spite the Wolf Clan, then you would put the boy with the neko team."

Even Naruto could hear the woman daring the Soshikage to choose that option. The Soshikage sighed and cracked his neck, before looking down at Michio and Naruto.

"It seems that there is only one logical choice as I know the Kitsunes would start a civil war if we dared put the Kyuubi no Kitsune down." He declared. "Dog-sama is right, the barrier wouldn't survive if we banished the boy. As I do not wish to start a civil war, there is only one option."

Naruto tensed slightly, biting his lip in order to keep silent. He didn't want to remain here, in this Village. Already he could tell that the people in it had some serious problems.

"Why can't I make my own decisions?" He blurted out. "It's my life after all!"

He winced as Michio hit him upside the head. Hisses and growls came from all over the room. The Soshikage sat back, looking faintly surprised. He looked at Naruto through narrow eyes as the boy rubbed the back of his head and glared at Michio.

"From the moment you entered the Village, it was no longer just your life." The auburn-haired male told the blond. "Anyone who enters the Village Hidden by the Animals becomes a part of the Village, something that was made apparent by the barrier restoring itself. If you leave, the entire Village will be effected, not just yourself."

Naruto growled. He knew when he was being lectured and he was clearly being lectured at the current moment. His hand clenched, forming a fist. The reaction was immediate.

The kunoichi with the cold voice moved the first, appearing next to Naruto without appearing to move. The move reminded Naruto of Kakashi-sensei, so he could only assume that she was the level of a jounin. She yanked his hand back and pulled it out of the fist formation it had assumed. Naruto let out a yelp at the suddenness of everything.

"When the Soshikage is before you, any movement can be taken as a threat." The kunoichi informed Naruto. "Lesson number one."

Naruto glared at the girl and tried to shake her off, but she didn't let go. Through her mask, he could see bright green eyes. They glared back at him. Apparently the girl wasn't as cold as her voice made her out to be. At least she still showed emotions, unlike some of the shinobi Naruto had met in his first year as a shinobi.

The Soshikage let out a chuckle.

"Let the boy go. I'm not threatened by him." He told the girl, who immediately dropped Naruto's arm like it was on fire. "He'll learn."

"Your decision, Soshikage-sama?" The Wolf Clan leader prompted after a tense moment. The Soshikage smiled.

"Ah, yes. That." He glanced at the nine shinobi still standing behind him. "Listen carefully, for I won't be lenient if my orders aren't followed. Atsuo, Kotori, teach the boy in the art of trapping. I have a feeling that he'll excel in that field. The wolf team and the neko team will be working closely together from now on, sharing missions and such, starting at dawn tomorrow."

The Wolf Clan leader let out a loud growl, now knowing what was about to happen. The Soshikage gave her a mischievous look.

"The boy shall join the neko team as their trapper but will also be learning from the wolf team and the flier team shall be the mediators. I believe that won't start a civil war." He announced. "Your first mission will be at dawn, given to you on the Akai bridge. Think of this as a way to peacefully bond the Clans. Failure is not an option."

The Soshikage stood up and left the room through a door that the shinobi had been blocking. His leaving quickly meant that none of the Clans, or Naruto, had time to protest his decision.

Michio turned to stare at the kunoichi that was still standing next to Naruto.

"Was that the decision you were expecting?" He asked in an overly curious voice. Spending years on the Council had trained his eyes to detect the slightest movement, so he could tell that the girl was shaking.

"No." There was barely concealed rage in the cold voice. The kunoichi turned to Naruto and bowed slightly.

"At dawn, Kitsune." She said in farewell. "Don't be late."


	5. Chapter 5

That night, it was impossible for Naruto to fall asleep in his sparsely decorated room. After the Council meeting Hisano and Michio had led him to their home, which was located on the eastern most side of the village. Their home was bigger than Naruto expected it to be, certainly too big for just three people to live there. It could easily hold ten or more people, the size of a small clan. Almost immediately, with no words of explanation, Hisano had led Naruto to the room in which he currently sat and left the seething boy there.

Naruto could not get the Council meeting off his mind. Whenever Naruto thought about how the decision had just been made by the Soshikage, without him being able to give any say, he growled and spat under his breath. He was a shinobi of Konoha, not this village, so he didn't understand what they were getting out of this whole situation. When a foreign village captured shinobi, the captives were normally subjected to torture or right out killed, not placed on a shinobi team. Sure, something about a barrier had been mentioned, but surely Naruto only needed to be kept alive for the barrier to remain intact. There was no need for him to be placed on a team.

Naruto also kept seeing the faces of the Council members after the Soshikage had made his announcement. There had been many reactions, but all were disturbing in their own way. The most common of reactions had been outrage, which didn't surprise Naruto in the slightest. No proper shinobi would want an outsider learning their secrets and living among them.

It was the ones who didn't react with rage that Naruto was more worried about. The reptilian man who had demanded his death in the Council meeting had left as soon as he had heard the Soshikage's decision, not allowing his reaction to be seen. The leader of the Wolf Clan had left immediately as well, but not without giving Naruto and the Soshikage a look that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. The Soshikage had given a small, deep laugh that clearly showed that he wasn't concerned by the death stares he had received by his Council.

The leader of the Deer Clan, the one that had asked the shinobi on guard what had been foreseen, had an amused look on his face. He was one of the few that hadn't seemed put out by the decision that had been made. The shinobi representing the Songbird and Eagle clans also looked amused, though the leader of the Eagle Clan had a more predatory look in her eye, as if she could gain something from the turmoil in the Council Hall.

Hisano had only sat there, between the Wolf Clan and the Cat Clan, face perfectly impassive. The leader of the Cat Clan had a smirk on his face as he stood up to leave, throwing a mocking look at the leader of the Wolf Clan as he left the Council Hall, who had snarled in reply.

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine as he remembered that snarl. It had come from the very depths of the woman, resonating all through the Council Hall. The shinobi behind the Soshikage had tensed but Naruto hadn't seen what happened since that was when Michio had decided to leave.

With a loud sigh, Naruto sat up in the small bed, cracking his neck and back to get rid of some extra stiffness. He clenched his hands into fists. He couldn't stay in this room any longer but every time he tried to wander about, Hisano always found him and brought him back to the room. The first time she had taken him to the kitchen for a small dinner but after the meal, the blonde-haired boy was right back where he started. Naruto felt like a prisoner.

However, maybe he would get lucky this time. After all, Hisano couldn't stay up all night to make sure he didn't leave the house. She had to sleep sometime. Shinobi had trained their bodies to be pushed as much as possible but even they needed to rest.

Quietly, Naruto left his bed and tried to approach the door silently, pausing whenever the floorboards creaked. As the door got closer and closer, Naruto could feel his chest tightening in excitement. He was so close to freedom that he could smell it.

Naruto sucked in a breath as he placed his hand on the door handle. He had pulled off many escape attempts due to all the pranks he had pulled as an academy student and each time he had the same rush of adrenaline.

Letting out his breath, Naruto twisted the cool metal doorknob and pulled on the door, relieved when it didn't creak and alert Michio or Hisano to his escape.

The adrenaline disappeared when Naruto saw what lay beyond the door. Not expecting to see anyone, the blond leaped to the other side of the room and took a defensive stance when he registered the dark shape standing right in front of him.

The nurse from the hospital, Yuri, stood in the doorway, hand raised as if she was about to knock. She looked at Naruto with a dull look in her eye.

"Your reflexes are slow," she commented. "Every second counts. You shouldn't have even opened the door with me standing behind it."

"Why are you here?" Naruto demanded, still clearly startled. He was breathing heavily after his start. The black-haired woman kept staring at Naruto with that dull look in her eyes. It gave her an exhausted look to her face.

"Dawn will be coming soon," she explained in a monotone voice. "We need to leave for the training grounds."

Out of habit, Naruto looked for a window to see if she was right. Then he remembered the tiny fact that had made him feel the most imprisoned. There was no window. He had been given a room in the center of the house, not one on the side.

"Already?" the blue-eyed boy whined. Yuri didn't reply, deciding instead to turn around and walk down the hall. She wanted to leave the Kitsune house as quickly as possible and meet her siblings, who would hopefully be waiting with tea or a light breakfast. After the Council meeting she had gone back to the hospital to take up another shift. Normally she would have been finished by midnight and could have had a few hours of sleep, but a team had come in, carting a severely injured shinobi that had been a part of the Cat Clan. Despite a long, extensive surgery, he had not survived the night.

It was the third such incident that taken place in the past two months and the ninth since the beginning of the year. There was no consistent pattern to the deaths but Yuri had a feeling that the same person was behind all of them. Numerous times she had come across traces of poison within the dead body but it was none that she could recognize. There was a definite need for concern.

Naruto decided not to follow Yuri, still not wanting to go along with this whole thing that the Soshikage had decided and the others had agreed to. Yuri didn't look back, deciding that if the boy chose to not show up, that was his own fault. He didn't know what he was getting himself into and she wasn't going to be late on his account.

Izo and Akahana lounged around the training grounds with their feline companions, waiting for their teammates to show up. Neither of them was speaking to the other, though Izo was watching Akahana closely, waiting for the outburst to come. Neither had been happy with the Soshikage's decision, feeling like he had made it only to prove that he could but Akahana had a tendency to react more violently.

"He's not with her." Akahana stated, sitting up as she saw Yuri come into sight alone. She growled under her breath, which was mimicked by the female hellcat that had been destroying a nearby tree with her claws. Izo smirked, not at all surprised. He hadn't expected the boy to give in without a fight. No proper shinobi would. They would accept their orders from the Soshikage without a question but that didn't mean they would follow those same orders without a fight. To fight back was in a shinobi's nature after all.

"Forget him. We have training to do," he ordered simply, wondering if Akahana would follow his orders. He was the team leader officially, but that had never stopped his distant cousin from disobeying his orders before. She acted like the perfect shinobi, never questioning, never failing to follow orders but that was only a façade. Like any shinobi in their Village, she was capable of double-crossing others without blinking an eye. "After all, Yuri had no problem doing so."

Yuri gave her older brother a tight-lipped smile. Akahana glowered at the siblings.

"You both can do so," she pointed out. "I, however, can't. The Soshikage gave an order and it must be obeyed."

"

"He whines," she stated simply, not looking at Akahana, who let out another snarl.

"Of course he does!" Akahana had finally snapped. Not that it was surprising. Her teammates had actually expected her to break much earlier than this. "In shinobi law, he's an adult but he still acts like a child. That much was evident yesterday. He has no control over his emotions, and subsequently his actions."

Yuri coughed, disguising a laugh. Akahana and the boy were actually very similar in that way. Then there was the fact that they both liked to wear bright colored clothing…foxes and cats were apparently more similar than the Clans liked to think.

"Hotaru, we're hunting." The red-haired shinobi got to her feet. Hotaru abandoned her scratching post, making a sound that was a mix of a snarl and a purr as the pair stalked away. She was always willing to go on a hunt, especially when it involved human prey—prey that could fight back.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto let out a curse and spat on the ground in frustration. He had managed to get out of the maze-like house without being spotted only to get lost in the surrounding village. It wasn't that it was hard to navigate the streets but there was a distinctive lack of landmarks. All the buildings were built in the same style and painted in the same color. The signs were generic and often shops had the same name as other shops that sold the same product. There wasn't even a marked exit or entrance to the village that Naruto could find. Instead of walls surrounding the village, there were sprawling estates that looked like clan homes and the edge of the forest. It was tempting to just dash into the forest and travel until he reached the other side but even Naruto wasn't that stupid. He and Jiraiya had gotten lost numerous times at the beginning of their travels, despite marking their path. There was something about that forest that set his nerves on edge. He predicted that if he went in there alone, he wouldn't come out alive.

A growl emerged from Naruto's throat as he passed yet another sign that read 'Food'. These people had no originality apparently. He was so frustrated that he failed to see the large cat padding silently along the flat, connected rooftops behind him, tail twitching in anticipation. The ginger hellcat lifted a back paw gingerly and Naruto's stalker struck a second later.

The rushing wind alerted Naruto that someone was approaching quickly and he had just enough time to form the hand seal to make a clone that replaced his actual being.

Akahana's eyes widened as the form she grabbed literally poofed out of existence but turned nimbly and steadied herself for another lunge. Naruto's blue eyes narrowed as he faintly recognized the girl who had attacked him. The green eyes were what gave her away.

"You again?" Naruto barked out. Akahana gave a tiny smirk but didn't reply, choosing to take the opportunity to attack again. Naruto was barely able to dodge out of the way but he didn't come away completely intact. The green-eyed girl had managed to scrape the top of his head and rip out a good chunk of his hair as she passed over him and stopped a few feet away. It hurt but it was nowhere as bad as what Naruto had suffered before.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Naruto demanded as the girl turned back towards him. "Aren't you supposed to be one of those people  _training_  me?"

The green-eyed girl lunged for Naruto again, this time faster than before. She definitely had the speed of a jounin. Since she was only a few feet away at the start of her lunge, there was no chance for Naruto to avoid her a third time. The force of the impact was enough to knock the blonde boy over and sent him skidding a few feet on the ground. Akahana remained on top of him as they went flying. As the pair came to a stop, she quickly dug her knee into the place she knew that would leave any male shinobi in tears.

"Yuri was right," she remarked. "You  _are_  the whiny type. Now come along. Izo does not like to be kept waiting." She rolled off Naruto and got to her feet quickly, looking around to see if any spying shinobi had noticed the brief tussle. Naruto gasped in pain and gaped at her.

"What the hell is your problem?" He asked again. His assailant quirked an eyebrow and gave him a cold look.

"Currently? You," she replied. "If you don't follow me, I've given Hotaru permission to take a bite or two out of you."

"Hotaru?" Naruto didn't recognize the name. The watching hellcat perked up at her name and jumped off the roof, over Akahana and Naruto's heads, and landed on the empty street. Her large paws easily absorbed the impact of the landing. Her tail waved in greeting and Akahana allowed a mischievous grin to slip onto her lips.

"She's a hellcat," she informed the younger boy. "Traditionally they guard the gates of hell and feed on the tortured souls within but Hotaru is a bit  _different_. Tortured souls hold no appeal to her."

"Why eat the dead when the living flesh tastes better?" The hellcat questioned, purring loudly. She gave Naruto a once-over, sniffed, and turned to her partner. "I'm not sure that I would like his flesh, though. He is the host of Kyuubi after all, so he probably tastes like a fox. I don't enjoy eating other predators."

"Aren't humans predators?" Naruto muttered under his breath. The hellcat, whose back came up to Naruto's waist, gave him a dirty look.

"You like to think so. I just associate humans with leeches and other parasites. You have the same effect, after all."

"Charming as always, Hotaru," a cool voice remarked and two figures jumped down from nearby roofs. One of them was Yuri. The other was Izo, who still hadn't been introduced to Naruto. Izo was giving the Kyuubi container a chilling glare.

"You followed me," stated Akahana, grin slipping off her face. An emotionless mask replaced it. Izo ignored her.

"Since we're all here, we're starting our mission now. The wolf team and the flier team have already had a head start," he began, speaking in crisp tones. "They've probably hidden their flags already and are trying to find ours by now."

"Flag?" Naruto tilted his head. How was hiding flags a mission?

"Training mission. We're playing capture the flag." Yuri said in a quiet voice. "Ours is about to be hidden right now."

"Oh?" Akahana raised an eyebrow, looking at her cousins. Yuri smirked and Izo pulled a flag from the inside of his jacket. He tied it around Hotaru's neck as the hellcat wrapped herself around him, purring like a kitten.

Naruto just stared at the three. They were playing a game? They trained by playing games? Not even Kakashi-sensei had tried that with their team before Sasuke had gone after Orochimaru.

"That's it? We're playing a game?" He voiced his disbelief. Izo and Akahana traded sly glances.

"It's harder than it looks," Akahana admitted. "Catch as many as you can and I'll work on finding the flags." She and Hotaru took off together, the hellcat overtaking her human partner with her longer strides.

"There are three teams participating. Our team, the wolf team, and the flier team. We've hidden our flag on Hotaru, because Akahana and Izo are the only ones that will willingly get close to her. The fliers have most likely attached their flag to a bird, so we need to keep a close eye on the sky," Yuri explained. "Last time we did this, the wolf team hid their flag in the Wolf Clan estate. If they do the same, theirs will be the easiest to get to.

"One person has to stay by their team's flag, so once we figure out who's guarding the flag, the game becomes easier. It also leaves the wolf team with three people to defend our flag against and two for the flier team. Number-wise, it would be easier to find the fliers and take out the two that aren't guarding the flag because that will leave their flag virtually unprotected.

"However, since there are more than two teams, we have to worry about teams working together. We could try to recruit one of the other two teams, but the wolf team would never work with us, especially when the other team is down a member. The flier team might work with us but they would probably choose to work with the wolf team because wolves don't typically go after birds for meals, unlike cats. However, they could possibly work with us because we've got a fox on our team."

Naruto's head hurt. Yuri was doing way too much analytical thinking for him to keep up with.

"Ano, is this how the game normally goes? You're making this way too complicated," he informed the pair.

"This isn't even the half of it," Izo muttered. "I sincerely hope you aren't a high-ranking shinobi where you come form if you can't even do this basic analysis."

Now Naruto's pride was hurt as well.

"It's simple! Just find the flag, barge in with a bunch of clones, and steal it."

Yuri and Izo cringed at his obliviousness.

"If you want to get everyone killed, that's the best way to go about it. I would have thought that you would have been taught by now that barging in will only end in disaster." Izo's tone was condescending and Naruto's hands clenched into fists.

"It's worked fine in the past," he said, angry tones coloring his voice. Izo gave a small scoff.

"And how many times has someone come in and saved you because you did something stupid? How many times have you or a teammate nearly died?"

Naruto said nothing. He refused to admit that the other boy might be right. Yuri just stood by silently, waiting for something to happen, whether it be flying fists or an ambush from another team.

"Is that why we found you unconscious and nearly dead from the poison within your system?" Izo continued. Naruto said nothing again, choosing instead to look away. Izo gave a tight-lipped smile. There was still a slight smidgen of hope for the boy. At least he knew that there were times when it was best to remain silent, neither denying nor confirming anything.

"Wolves incoming," Yuri announced, head turned to the right, in the opposite direction that Akahana had gone. Naruto looked as well but couldn't see anyone or anything.

"Fukuyo and Miyu," Izo confirmed, keeping an eye on the rest of the street.

"Do we risk taking them out now?" Yuri questioned, hand twitching to where she kept her smaller weapons.

"Their sense of smell is better than ours, so they know that we're around. Since we haven't moved for a while, they might have assumed we're guarding the flag. If we don't attack, they'll attack us," Izo murmured.

"I know your opinion of canines isn't that high but I doubt that they're dumb enough to believe that we have three people sitting on a flag," Yuri remarked, eyes scanning the area.

"We've come up with stupider plans," Izo reminded her. "Still, they'll be watching and since they haven't attacked yet, they'll probably be waiting for us to split up before attacking. Akahana better not come back. She'd walk into their trap and the game would be lost before we get there."

"You don't have any faith in your teammate?" Naruto asked. That seemed a little harsh to him. Even Kakashi-sensei had faith in his team, enough to leave them to fight their battles alone, even when they were outnumbered.

"Faith requires trust and you can't trust anyone in this village. We learn that from our cradles. You can only trust your clan and pretend to trust everyone else."

Okay. It was very harsh. How was the village still standing if no one trusted each other? Naruto knew what it was like to have trust issues but he was still willing to trust others. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up with no one to trust. At least he had had Iruka-sensei.

Quiet howls reached his ears. They sounded playful and taunting.

"Rikiya joined them," Yuri recognized one howl in particular. "That means Atsuo is the one that's with the flag, most likely."

"Or they could have three people sitting on their flag," Naruto muttered under his breath. Izo gave him a slightly annoyed look.

"If they would be dumb enough to believe that the three of us are sitting on that stupid flag, wouldn't they also be dumb enough to place three people on their own flag."

That may have possibly been one of Naruto's brighter moments regarding battlefield strategy. Yuri sighed and Izo gave Naruto a calculating look.

"Why don't you tell us," he said after a moment. "After all, you have more of a canine-like mind than either of us."

Naruto wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but he felt like he had just been insulted.

"So that whole cat-dog rivalry does exist then," he mentioned. Yuri scowled.

"That word, rivalry, is only a pebble on a mountain. Now shut up so we can hear if anyone approaches."

A large roar sounded on the other side of the village, followed by a piercing scream. Yuri and Izo muttered curses under their breath.

"Was that the green-eyed chick with the large cat?" Naruto asked.

"Akahana," Yuri confirmed. "And don't let her catch you referring to her as 'the green-eyed chick.' She brought our clan great glory four years ago and must be respected, even though she is not the team leader."

Of course. She was probably some sort of prodigy, like Sasuke. Naruto always seemed to end up with the prodigies. At least it explained the attitude somewhat. All the prodigies seemed to have piss-poor attitudes.

"Time to go," Izo said suddenly. "The wolf team has moved away." Yuri smirked and turned to Naruto.

"Try and keep up, why don't you," she said, preparing to run. Naruto had no time to formulate a response before they were moving, moving away from the village center and into the forest. The pace was quicker than what Naruto was used to and the pace he was used to was fairly quick to begin with. After a little over six months of traveling with Jiraiya had shown him that the old man waited for no one. They had to travel as quickly as possible between villages. That way Naruto could spend more time training in each village and Jiraiya could get more research done. It also lengthened the distance between them and any who might be tracking them.

"Use your senses," Yuri hissed as she fell back slightly. "Think like the fox inside you. Call out to him. Use his ears. Smell through his nose. Let your hands and feet become like paws. Think like a fox.  _Become_ the fox."

No one had ever given him such advice before. Most of the Konoha shinobi, including the late Third Hokage, had chosen to ignore the fox within him and only focus on Naruto's chakra and jutsu. Jiraiya-sensei had only encouraged him to take Kyuubi's chakra and use it for his own gain. No one had ever encouraged him to become one with the demon within him.

" _Do it!_ " Yuri hissed as Naruto hesitated. The blond took a deep breath and nodded. He wasn't sure quite what to do so he tried to imagine what it would be like to be a fox. He imagined it would be simpler. There would be no need to worry about what others thought or how they acted. There would be no friends or enemies, just those that he would tolerate and those who he needed to drive away from his territory or would become his prey.

The weather was warmer than usual around this time of year. That meant the nights would be warmer and his prey would be more willing to venture further from their dens. That made things easier. He wouldn't have to venture out in the middle of the day for a much needed meal. He couldn't wait until he had finished his hunt. He needed to feel the ripping of fur, the crunching of bones, the warm blood soaking his teeth.

Slowly but surely, Naruto felt the changes within his body. The sounds he used to barely be able to pick up on were now as easily heard as someone speaking in a normal tone. He could smell the animals on the forest floor and the oncoming rain. It would storm tonight most likely. He felt nimbler and gradually picked up speed as he began to use his hands as well as his feet to travel amongst the trees.

The last change was his eyesight. It wasn't as gradual as everything else. Naruto blinked and when his eyes reopened, everything was tinged in red and movements became sharper, easier to pick up on.

In the back of his mind, Naruto could hear the growling of Kyuubi. It wasn't the angry roar he had been subjected to the past couple of times he had encountered his prisoner. Instead, it was almost a purr. Kyuubi knew where he was and he was content for the time being.

For the time being, Naruto and Kyuubi could no longer be considered to separate beings—the jailor and the prisoner. They were one, with the same mindset. Becoming one with Kyuubi wasn't as frightening as Naruto had believed it to be. It was freeing. It was exhilarating.

This was how it was supposed to be.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuri watched Naruto out of the corner of her eye. She knew what he was feeling right now. She had experienced it, too. The first time one of their shinobi connected with their inner being was always the most exhilarating. The next step would be to bring the Kyuubi out of his prison inside Naruto. It would take some time before that would happen, though. To do so would require an extremely threatening situation or a lot of patience. There was also a matter of that seal… Yuri wasn't sure if it would hinder the process of removing the Kyuubi or if she would be able to make a crack in the seal to draw Kyuubi out. It looked very strong. The person who made it must have been well versed in sealing techniques.

Izo slid to a stop and held out his hands, signaling for silence. Yuri obeyed automatically. Naruto obeyed as well, but much more hesitantly. He let out a faint whine as he stopped, earning a sharp look from Izo.

"We'll set up traps here," Izo murmured quietly. "Sooner or later, the wolf team or the flier team will come this way and hopefully we'll be able to stall them enough with the traps to capture a team member."

Izo cast a glance towards Naruto who raised an eyebrow.

"We also need to teach this one how to trap, as he's to be our new trapper for the time being," he continued. Naruto scowled at that.

"I know how to set up traps," he snapped. Izo gave a harsh laugh.

"An exploding tag here? A chakra wire there? That could never be considered trapping. I mean traps where if a shinobi steps even in one wrong spot, the explosion will be seen for miles around."

Izo slid a bag off his back. Naruto peered at it closely. He hadn't noticed it before. It was rather large for a shinobi to be carrying. It would be a hindrance in battle and would only add extra weight and bulk for speed and stealth missions.

"We'll only set up the basic trap layout right now," Izo muttered, pulling a scroll out of the bag and unrolling it. Naruto peered at it closely. It was just a bunch of lines, stars, and slash marks, written in two different colors.

"Black is always the first layer. Blue is second. On more advanced patterns, green is third, brown is fourth, and red is fifth," Yuri explained.

"Layers?" Naruto asked. Yuri nodded.

"The lines are where the chakra wires go. Stars are where we put the devices that trigger the traps and slash marks are the trap itself. Traps include exploding tags, catapults that will launch kunai and shuriken, smoke bombs, poisonous gas, and anything else you can think of. Traps can be in trees, hidden in brush, or even buried underground."

"You need blueprints to lay these out? Sounds like a waste of time," Naruto grumbled, locking his arms behind his head.

"Trapping is only good when you know that it will take a while for your opponent to reach you or if you're defending a certain location," Izo admitted. "We need the blueprints because there are hundreds of ways to set these up and to figure out how to take them down without setting anything off. Most shinobi in the village are rather paranoid and wouldn't be amused if we caused an explosion."

"Yeah, I noticed that this isn't a humorous lot," Naruto muttered under his breath. "Maybe if you loosened up a little, everyone wouldn't be ready to kill everyone else."

"Just hurry up," Yuri hissed. "We've waited around too long. I don't want to walk into an ambush."

Izo stiffened at being given an order but quickly began setting up traps. Naruto watched closely, amazed by the process. It was like putting together a puzzle. Every wire Izo strung was connected to at least three triggers and traps and five other wires. It was quite the process.

"So do we need to get both of the other flags or just one other?" Naruto asked as they began moving on.

"Both of them," Yuri said. "When we get one, we'll have to be twice as careful because if we're attacked, then there's a possibility that the other teams can get both flags. That's why we split up. Makes it more difficult to obtain a flag."

The sound of approaching footsteps made the trio slide to a stop and pull out their weapons. Naruto and Yuri pulled out kunai but Izo grabbed another object that had been strapped to his back.

"What is that?" Naruto questioned, eyeing the strange object. It had sharp ridges but one side of it was made up of wire and there was a large hole in the center. Izo pulled out a piece of wood that was tipped with razor sharp steel and laid it across the foreign weapon.

"Bow and arrow. Good for long distance fighting but the sharpened edges also allow for close combat fighting. Slash it across an opponent's skin and it cuts right down to the bone, slicing through muscle, organs, and veins," Izo explained as he looked for his target. "Now shut up."

"So why aren't you getting your hand sliced off?" Naruto asked curiously. Izo glared at him and refused to answer.

"Look at his hands," Yuri whispered. Naruto did so and then noticed that the other boy was wearing gloves that protected his hands from any damage. Peering closer, Naruto could see where the bow had left its mark. There were countless scratches and slits where it had dug into the fabric.

Akahana burst through the trees, Hotaru close behind her, and neatly dodged the arrow Izo let loose in her direction. Landing softly, she glared at the older boy.

"You know, just once, I would like not to get shot at," she growled. Izo stared at her impassively.

"It keeps you on your toes," he replied. "Or, if you would rather, come up with a signal that lets us know it's you and not someone else."

Akahana narrowed her eyes but said nothing.

"Atsuo had the flag for the wolf team. I managed to take it from him in a fight," she reported, waving the said object.

"A fair fight?" Izo asked. Akahana snorted.

"Not really. He'll be whining about it when we finish and meet up."

"What about that scream we heard earlier?"

Akahana shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing to concern yourself with. I'm fine now," she said calmly. "Tobikuma and Shouta are out by the way. Kotori has the flag."

"How did Tobikuma and Shouta get out?"

"Shouta was taken out by Fukuyo, Rikiya, and Miyu and I was able take Tobikuma out while they were occupied with Shouta."

"Are you going to give any actual details or just vague answers?" Izo asked in an irritated voice.

"Just vague answers," Akahana replied with a small grin. Hotaru chuffed a little. Izo sighed.

"Did you find out where the fliers have hid their flag?" he asked.

"With Kotori," Akahana replied slowly. Izo scowled.

"And where is she?" he asked.

"Trapped in behind the eagle estate."

"Trapped in?" Naruto tilted his head. "Couldn't you have just gotten it when she was trapped?"

"Trapped in means she set up traps around a certain location, like a tree, and placed herself and the disablers in the center, so the only way to get to her is to avoid all the traps or to set them off. How many layers?"

"Four," Akahana replied. "One underground, one low to the ground, one at waist height, and one at shoulder height. The only way to avoid them is if you can cut yourselves into pieces."

"So it's a stalemate," Yuri sighed.

"Maybe not," Izo replied, eyeing Naruto with a look in his eye that made the younger boy shift nervously.

Ten minutes later, Naruto stared at a large tree and then back at Izo.

"So I should…"

"Yep."

"Just go right in?"

"Yep."

"And set off as many as possible?"

"Yep."

"Weren't you the one who was saying that we shouldn't just charge right into things? And weren't you also the one who wanted to prevent as many explosions as possible?"

"That was before we were this close to getting to our goal. I've also thought this through. You charge in and set off as many traps, Kotori gets frightened and abandons her post or disables some of the other traps, and then it becomes easier to maneuver."

"And if people get pissed off?" Naruto asked, not wanting to have to be chased around by pissed off shinobi.

"We blame it on Akahana," Izo smirked. Akahana, who had been nodding in agreement with Izo the entire time, shot him a nasty look.

"Or you can say it was all Izo's idea," she added. "He can afford to be in trouble with the Soshikage."

"All right," Naruto reluctantly agreed and prepared to make his shadow clones.

"Wait!"

The four turned at the sudden shout. Izo had his bow drawn and an arrow ready to fly in the second it took to turn.

Another shinobi was jogging toward them. He looked to be more about Naruto's age instead of Akahana's age. His hair was a dark brown and was shaggily cut, giving him a scruffy and wild appearance.

"What do you want, Atsuo?" Akahana's voice was sharp and irritated. "We're still playing."

"We're finished now," the younger boy replied. "We need your team. There's been another incident."

Yuri stiffened.

"Why is the entire team needed?" she asked. "Why am I even needed? Surely the hospital has enough competent healers that I'm not needed at the moment."

Atsuo looked grim.

"The shinobi in question was already dead when found. He was found inside the cat clan estate."


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto was all but forgotten as his teammates followed the messenger. He trailed behind them, feeling out of place.

Akahana's hands were clenched into fists at her sides. They were trembling ever so slightly. She stopped suddenly. Izo and Yuri glanced back at her. A confused look crossed Yuri's face.

"Akahana, what's wrong?" she asked quietly. Akahana glowered at the messenger who was giving her an impatient look.

"Who was murdered?" she asked.

"A shinobi," the messenger replied.

"Of what clan?" Akahana demanded. "If it's someone from outside of the cat clan, I'm not going to bother going. I'm not dealing with the accusations."

"Does it really matter what clan?" Yuri snapped. "They were found on our territory and we have a right to know."

"Know what? Which one of us will be questioned? Which one of us will be blamed? Or maybe it was a member of the cat clan. Then we get to find out which one of us lost a family member." Akahana sounded bitter as she glared at Yuri and the messenger.

"I don't know the details," the messenger said. "I was told to gather all the teams up that have shinobi belonging to the cat clan in them."

"I'm not going then," Akahana said determinedly. Izo gave her a warning look. Akahana snarled at him. "I'm not entering into any situation where I don't know all the details. Not after what happened last time."

Naruto's head tilted to the side at that comment. Last time?

"Then you can answer to the Soshikage," Izo warned and gestured for the messenger to move on. The messenger, Izo, and Yuri soon disappeared from sight.

"I'm so scared," Akahana muttered under her breath as they departed.

"What happened last time?" Naruto asked hesitantly after a few seconds of silence. Akahana glanced at him.

"The last time someone from my immediate family went into something without knowing all the details, he never came back," she said softly. "No body was ever retrieved."

"And since then, all your missions have included every single detail that you've needed?" Naruto asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

"No, but I haven't gone on the ones that haven't had every detail," Akahana said lightly.

"That's so cowardly!" Naruto broke out. Akahana spun to face him with a hiss, a hand going into her kunai pouch. "As a shinobi, you can't know everything! To do nothing when you aren't sure of what to do is the coward's way out!"

"Maybe to you it is but in my world, it's the smartest choice. Here, you always have to be careful with what you do and say. If you aren't, then someone gets offended and blood feuds break out."

"I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet," Naruto commented. Akahana relaxed enough to give a small shrug.

"It's a fine line," she agreed. "I wake up every morning wondering when the war will start. Any idiot could see that war is about to break out—even an idiot like you."

Naruto had been about to say something in agreement but at her last comment, his jaw just hung open.

"Huh?" he said. Akahana rolled her eyes and didn't say anything.

"So has it been this way your entire life?" Naruto asked. Akahana shook her head.

"It wasn't when I was a kid," she stated. "The clans actually got along to some extent back then. The year Yuri, Izo, and I became a shinobi is when things started getting bad. The old Soshikage died and the current one took her place. It wasn't a popular decision. Lately it's gotten even worse because of all the killings. Everyone believes everyone else is the killer. It's not exactly an ideal environment to live in."

Akahana made a face. Naruto wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't exactly encourage her to leave her home if she was unhappy. No shinobi was ever awarded that privilege. To do so would mark her as a traitor. The only way Akahana would ever be given an out is if she died or if the village was destroyed to the point where it would no longer exist.

"Shinobi are people bred for war," Akahana continued after a little bit. "Our shinobi especially. Other villages used to hire us when they wanted to win a battle with few casualties. Since we're so connected with our animal counterparts, most of the other villages thought of it as a two-for-one deal. Then we were hired to slaughter villages and win land for countries that were looking to expand or that wanted to eliminate competition. Soon every village hired us so we often found ourselves going into battle against family members.

"It didn't take long for the Council to figure out that there was a problem and make a decision. We faked our destruction, planted the forest around us, and were forbidden to leave the haven of our village. It was the last thing that the Council fully agreed on."

Akahana's voice turned bitter.

"What would happen if someone tried to leave?" Naruto asked. After all, he would have to leave at some point. Otherwise he would be declared a missing nin and he wasn't going to follow into Sasuke's path.

"Our network is too tightly strung," Akahana mentioned. "The Council would know within the hour and teams would be sent out to retrieve the one who left. Most who have tried to leave kill themselves once they realize that the village is after them. We don't take well to traitors."

Akahana glanced at Naruto.

"When the Council decided to put you onto a team, you became a shinobi of this village," she informed him. "Not a trusted one, but a shinobi nonetheless. You're in this for life, just like me."

It wasn't until Naruto was locked back up in the fox clan estate home that he fully realized what had happened. Akahana had been trying to warn him about something. Something that she was scared of.

Akahana, in a way, reminded Naruto of Tsunade. Both were strong, powerful women. Tsunade was afraid of few things in life. Naruto had a feeling the same went for Akahana.

Akahana was scared of something.

Naruto needed to find out what it was that terrified her.


	9. Chapter 9

_A few weeks later_

Naruto narrowly dodged the punch aimed for his face and swung around to avoid the kick coming at him from the side. Then he had to promptly duck as a large cat sprang at him. He felt the extended claws brush over his hair. That one was close. Hotaru's claws could have easily ripped his face apart had she jumped lower.

"You're still slow," Akahana called as she retreated from the close range. Naruto sent a glare in her direction.

"I'm still slow?" he remarked, incredulous. "I'm still slow?"

"Compared to Akahana, you are," Izo interjected from where he was watching the practice spar. Naruto scowled.

"Compared to her, everyone's slow," he snapped. "I know for a fact that I can outrun and duck faster than most of the teams in the village."

"He has a point," Yuri agreed, stashing the senbon she had been practicing with in a pouch hanging off her waist. "When he got here, even toddlers were faster than him."

Naruto's scowl turned her direction.

"That's not true!" he protested. Yuri smirked and shrugged.

"What I'm trying to say is that he's made progress," she further explained.

"Only because Akahana and the shinobi she's recruited have been springing surprise attacks on him whenever possible," Izo commented. Naruto huffed.

"The desperation in the way he tries is adorable, I think," Hotaru purred as she padded to stand aside Akahana. Naruto resisted the urge to shudder. He could normally put up with Hotaru (he was one of the few that wasn't scared of the hellcat), but there were some moments like this one when he found her unbearably creepy. Akahana smirked down at her feline counterpart.

"Are we done with this for now?" she asked Izo. "Or can I continue beating him to a pulp?"

Izo stared at her with emotionless eyes.

"Go practice your jutsus," he ordered. "Naruto, you have a choice for once—memorizing trap plans or trying to bring Kyuubi out of you."

That wasn't a real choice, in Naruto's opinion. He knew which one Izo wanted him to pick and he knew that he would only be successful at one.

"Hand over the scrolls," he grumbled, holding out his hand. Akahana snorted, having predicted his choice. Yuri looked disappointed as Izo passed over the back lying against one of the training posts. Naruto pulled out one of the scrolls, holding back a sigh as he opened it.

It was no secret that the rest of his teammates wanted Naruto to try and break the seal on his body, extracting Kyuubi in the process. However, it was a feat that was near impossible. Normally, that would never stop Naruto from trying and succeeding, but the blonde was reluctant to extract Kyuubi from his body. After all, once the fox was freed, what would prevent the village from killing him and bonding Kyuubi with another member of the fox clan?

So, Naruto would try but every time he got close to actually breaking the seal, he would claim fatigue or pain and dash away before Yuri could examine him.

Naruto made the necessary seal and five Kage Bunshin popped into existence.

"You know what to do," Naruto ordered brightly and his clones promptly grabbed the rest of the scrolls from the pack. Izo moved away, beckoning Yuri to follow him.

"Let's see what you can do," he ordered. Yuri nodded and their spar began. Naruto blocked them out, only sparing the least amount of attention needed to ensure that a jutsu didn't come in his direction or that a shuriken didn't fly at him, missing his head by scant centimeters. Like one had last week…Naruto looked up from his scroll and glared at Akahana, who was surrounded by rapidly spinning cyclones of fire. She ignored his glare and lifted her hands. The cyclones rose off the ground. It looked easy but Naruto could see the glimmer of sweat on Akahana's brow and the intense glimmer of concentration in her eye.

Akahana pushed her hands out and the cyclones spun outwards, racing away from her. However, before they could light the surrounding trees and training grounds on fire, Hotaru leapt after them. A few bats with her large paws and the twisters changed directions. Once she got bored of playing with a certain twister, Hotaru would sink her teeth into the tail of it, making the fiery tornadoes explode into tiny fragments and sparks.

Once they were all gone, Hotaru returned to Akahana, who grinned down at her.

"Are there more?" Naruto heard Hotaru ask the kunoichi. Akahana's grin turned into a frown.

"I gave you nine," she informed the hellcat. "That's more than I've managed in the past."

"The last one could manage up to sixteen," Hotaru mewed in a snide voice.

"The last shinobi you worked with was a Soshikage," Akahana replied. "I don't have those chakra reserves yet."

Naruto turned back to his scroll, not wanting to overhear this particular conversation. It seemed too private.

After a few hours, Naruto's Kage Bunshin popped one by one once their task was completed. Naruto had been accustomed to the influx of information he received once they popped and was able to continue memorizing his own with even batting an eye. After the last one had popped and Naruto's own scroll was memorized, he found himself being stared down by Izo.

"What?" he asked as he got to his feet. The other boy shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied. "Go home."

Naruto instinctively bristled at the direct order. He looked at the sky. The sun hadn't even begun to set yet, which was their normal cue to go home. Izo turned away from Naruto.

"You too, Akahana," he called over to the red-haired shinobi. She looked at the squad leader in confusion.

"So soon?" she asked. Izo nodded.

"It's that time," he pointed out. "I expect that sometime this week all the shinobi teams will be called in by the Soshikage. Once that happens, we have two weeks of intensive training before…"

Izo trailed off. Akahana's eyes widened and she nodded. Naruto stared at the pair in confusion.

"Has it been two years already?" she mused. "It hasn't felt like it."

"It's felt longer to me," Yuri murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto burst in to the conversation. The three members of the cat clan stared at him blankly.

"The Day of Trials," Yuri explained after a few seconds. "It serves a variety of purposes."

"Such as?" Naruto prodded.

"It allows shinobi to advance in the ranks," Yuri explained. "If you get far enough in the competitions, then you get promoted."

"Like the chuunin exams?" Naruto asked. The three stared at him blankly. Naruto's cheeks reddened.

"Never mind," he muttered. "What else?"

"Actual trials. The clan heads select a shinobi from their clan to represent them and the representatives battle it out in the trials. It's a way to settle what could become future blood feuds. And then there's the challenge…"

Akahana and Izo smirked. It was odd seeing a smirk on Izo's normally impassive face.

"The challenge?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"The strongest shinobi of the clans participate in the challenge. It's an elimination type tournament. Two shinobi pair off and battle each other. The winner advances. The battles take place until there's only one shinobi left. The winner's clan head becomes the Soshikage and a new clan head is elected while he or she remains as Soshikage," Izo explained.

"So, theoretically, the Soshikage represents the strongest clan in the village," Akahana added.

"But not the strongest shinobi," Naruto muttered to himself. It was a very different system than the one Konoha had.

"The clan head is the strongest shinobi in the clan," Yuri reminded Naruto. "Anyways, once the Soshikage makes the announcement of when the Day of Trials will be, all the teams and clans start intensive training routines."

"This all takes place in a day?" Naruto asked doubtfully. It seemed like there was too much going on for everything to happen in just one day.

"When there were less clans and shinobi, it did. Now, it's more of a week," Yuri said. She was about to say something more but was cut off by a hiss from Akahana.

"Wolf team incoming," the kunoichi muttered as everyone looked at her. "Let's scatter before they try and rope us into playing a game."

The path back to the fox clan home was nearly second nature to Naruto after the past few weeks. When he arrived at the home, he could recognize a few of the shinobi lingering about. The blonde waved at everyone he passed, giving them a bright smile. He saved his brightest smiles for the few children playing in the courtyard.

"Naruto-san!" a small girl waved him over. She was only three or four years old. "Look what I can do!"

She grabbed a practice kunai from the pile lying beside her and threw it at the target that had been set up a few meters away. It hit the target nearly dead center, point in, and stuck. Naruto clapped.

"You've been practicing, Kouzan," he praised her, ruffling her orange hair. "Keep it up and you may be as amazing as me some day!"

Kouzan beamed.

"I want to be Soshikage!" she informed him. "I can't wait until I can start taking part in the Day of Trials."

Naruto's smile became slightly forced.

"You will soon," he told her. "But you need a bit more practice until you can."

Kouzan nodded.

"I'll practice as hard as I can," she promised as Naruto stood up. Leaving Kouzan, Naruto headed back to the room that had been marked as his for the time being. Once Naruto entered and the door was closed, he set his weapons pouch aside and sat on the bed. He was all for relaxing and taking a nap but a croak drew his attention.

A small toad sat on his pillow. Naruto grinned, recognizing the toad.

"The Pervy-sage wrote back already?" he asked it. He had become used to toads showing up in his room by now. He had become used to a lot of things.

"Yep," the small toad replied and stuck out its tongue. Resting on it was a note from Jiraiya. These notes were Naruto's only connection to the outside world. Naruto had been shocked when the first toad had appeared, bearing a message from his sensei, but then he realized the genius behind it. At first, upon hearing of the situation, the sannin had been prepared to go in and rescue Naruto but the barrier around the village prevented him from getting through. Naruto supposed he could have snuck out but something was compelling him to stay. However, he couldn't quite figure out what that compelling force was. Maybe it was the fact that he actually had a biological family here. The people here were cut from the same cloth as him.

Naruto opened the note and scanned it, easily reading Jiraiya's sloppy handwriting from months of practice.

_I've taken residence in a village nearby under the guise of doing research on the forest and its history. People are skeptical but seem to content to let me be as long as I don't actually go into the forest. If anything happens, and it seems from your notes that something will soon, send a toad. I'll help in whatever way I can to get you out of there. That being said, have you learned anything more? I did some research about the village but there's next to nothing. As soon as we move on, I propose looking into it in the library of a different shinobi village. There has to be records. They can't have destroyed them all. How's the new team? How's that pretty redhead you mentioned?_

Naruto rolled his eyes. Of course the Pervy-sage would inquire into Akahana. Any mention of a woman and he was hooked.

Naruto flipped over the note and pulled out a brush and ink. He wrote quickly.

_In training today, they mentioned something about the "Day of Trials". From their explanation, it sounds like the Chuunin Exams. It'll take place in a few weeks. If I passed this, could I be considered a Chuunin? Judging by the training I've gone through, I have a feeling it will be much tougher than the one Konoha hosted. I don't know whether or not I'll be taking place in the actual tournaments, but it sounds like all shinobi take part in it. My team is still making me try and break Kyuubi's seal. The clan leaders are as well. So far, it's been unsuccessful but that's only because I haven't been trying. I know what I can do with Kyuubi's chakra. I don't want to imagine what would actually happen if he was released. Plus, once he's released, what would keep me alive? I'm more accepted now but I still see the distrusting looks and the glares._

Naruto folded the note and handed it over to the waiting toad. The toad swallowed it and turned away from Naruto.

"See you later, boss," it called over its shoulder as it disappeared from sight. Naruto watched it go with a slight longing. However, he didn't have much time to mull over Jiraiya and the toads as someone knocked on his door. Naruto opened the door to reveal Hisano standing on the other side, a severe look on her face.

"Michio and I wish to talk to you," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto followed Hisano to the private study that both Michio and Hisano used on a daily basis. He was slightly confused. Why did they want to talk to him?

Michio was already in the study, waiting for the pair. Hisano walked over to where he was sitting and knelt beside him. Her husband gestured for Naruto to kneel across the table from him.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded as he did so. The pair traded looks and Hisano gestured for Michio to take the lead on this one.

"We heard that your team explained the Day of Trials to you today," he began.

"How did you find that out?" Naruto interrupted. "There was no one at the training area but us."

"We have our ways, brat," Hisano replied snappily. "Don't interrupt anymore until we finish. It's not polite."

Hisano had been trying to drill manners into Naruto for the past few weeks. It wasn't really a successful endeavor so far. Naruto was far too hasty and impatient.

"Since they've explained that to you," Michio continued, "we have talked and decided that you should be better prepared for when you perform on that day."

"Perform?" Naruto asked, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them. Hisano scowled at him and Naruto grinned sheepishly at him.

"Yes," Michio replied. "Every active shinobi that is on a permanent team takes part. Therefore, we've decided that you need more tools that you can use to prove that the fox clan is a clan that won't be pushed around anymore."

"Tools?" Naruto asked suspiciously. "What sort of tools?" He hoped they weren't talking about Kyuubi but he doubted it. If they had known what his team had talked about today during practice, then they must know that he hadn't succeeded with the extraction yet.

"Since you can't access the fox inside you," Michio began, "and it is considered disgraceful for a shinobi not to be able to use his clan's techniques—"

Naruto made a face at that.

"So we have decided that it is time for you to receive our clan's contract," Michio finished. Naruto looked at the older man.

"Contract? Like a summoning contract?" he asked eagerly. He already had the contract for the toads. Was it possible to have two?

Michio nodded curtly.

"Yes, the contract of the foxes," he said, pulling out a scroll from the inside of his sleeve. Naruto stared at it in unabashed amazement and eagerness. "All you need to do is—"

"Sign my name with my blood," Naruto finished. The older pair of shinobi looked surprised that he knew that fact and Naruto realized he probably shouldn't have said anything. He laughed awkwardly and Hisano gave a sigh. She shook her head at her husband, giving him a signal that he shouldn't ask about it. The less they knew, the less trouble they could get in with the other clans if the boy had another contract. After all, if they hadn't known, how could they be held responsible?

Michio handed over the scroll.

"Once it's signed, summon just one of the smaller foxes," he ordered. Naruto nodded. He unrolled the small, worn scroll and bit his thumb. The blood welled up and Naruto carefully signed his name. The list of names on the scroll was extensive. His eyes roamed over the list, resting on three familiar names. Uzu Michio. Maki Hisano. Uzumaki Kushina. There was so much history in this scroll. Naruto could easily guess that every single shinobi of the fox clan was listed here. Not only was it a technique but also it was the clan's way of keeping records of the shinobi in their clan.

Once his name was signed and the blood was drying, Naruto began forming his hands into the seals needed. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. Naruto thrust his hand onto the ground and pushed out a moderate amount of chakra. There was a poof of smoke and once it cleared, an average size fox stood where Naruto had placed his hand on the ground.

The reddish orange fox's nose twitched as it sniffed the air and looked around. Then its tail wagged ever so slightly.

"Who're you?" it demanded in a feminine voice to Naruto. Hisano and Michio smiled. There was hope for the boy after all.

"Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name, fox-sama?" Naruto asked, mimicking the way he had heard Yuri talk to the cats she often had hanging around her. The fox sniffed again. Her nose quivered and she stared at Naruto suspiciously.

"Suzu," she replied. "Why do you smell of Kurama?"

"Kurama?" Naruto asked. He didn't recognize the name.

"The name of the fox with nine tails," Suzu growled out. "You reek of him. Us foxes are wondering why he has not come home in quite some time."

"It's complicated," Naruto mumbled. "But I'm working on it."

Suzu nodded and began padding around the room.

"Am I needed for anything?" she asked. Hisano shook her head.

"No, Suzu-sama. We have just given Naruto-kun the contract and were testing the connection. You may go back if you wish," she said. Suzu nodded and looked at Naruto once again.

"I'll tell the others that Kurama has been found," she told him. "You should work on summoning us all. I'm sure they'll have questions."

There was another poof of smoke before Naruto could reply. Naruto sighed as it cleared. Suzu was gone.

"Is that all?" he asked the two older shinobi. Hisano smiled grimly.

"The foxes will teach you the rest," she replied cryptically. Naruto inclined his head and turned, leaving the study and the other two shinobi behind. His eyes narrowed slightly as he followed the path back to his room. Kurama, huh? It had never occurred to him that the Kyuubi would actually have a name. He had always thought of the nine-tailed fox as the Kyuubi, a demon that took the form of a fox. Knowing that it was called Kurama made the Kyuubi seem less demonic.

A demon fox that didn't seem demonic? It was laughable. Kyuubi, Kurama, whatever it was called, was dangerous. He wanted to kill and disliked humans. That had been clear from the few conversations Naruto had had with the fox. Naruto was fairly positive that if he ever let the nine-tailed fox out of his body that he would be killed immediately, either by other shinobi or by Kyuubi himself.

Naruto sighed. He needed advice on what to do but he didn't know who to go to. He doubted that any of the fox clan members had ever experienced this sort of problem and he really didn't trust the other clans.

Naruto sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the wall. Who could he ask? He supposed he could go to his teammates but he had a feeling Yuri would be too technical about it and that Izo wouldn't have anything to offer. Naruto had never even seen Izo with a cat or summon a cat.

Naruto groaned as the obvious solution came to mind. Akahana and Hotaru. Hotaru was a hellcat, or so Naruto had been told. He hadn't quite understood how that made her different from the cats that Yuri summoned and used but now it was crystal clear. Hotaru was most likely the feline form of Kyuubi.


	11. Chapter 11

Akahana was still at the training grounds when Naruto found her. It was the first place he looked and, thankfully, it was the only place he had to look. She was breathing heavily and glaring at Hotaru, who was purring and licking a paw. Beads of sweat covered her forehead.

"Are you going to continue?" Hotaru asked. Akahana stood up straight, a determined glint in her eye.

"Of course," she panted. "I'll get this jutsu down. If I can't, then I don't deserve to be chosen by the hellcats."

The seals Akahana made were formed too fast for Naruto to discern.

"Fire Style: Blizzard of Flames!" Akahana cried as she formed the final seal. Naruto waited for the jutsu to take effect. A small circle of sparks formed around Akahana but they soon faded. Hotaru snorted and Akahana grimaced.

"What's that jutsu supposed to do?" Naruto asked. Akahana spun around, hand reflexively pulling out a kunai. She relaxed slightly upon seeing Naruto but didn't look happy to see him. She also didn't put away the kunai, choosing to twirl it around her fingers lazily.

"What do you want?" she demanded warily.

"I have some questions," Naruto said. Akahana's eyes narrowed. She could tell that Naruto was being very serious, something that was rare with the boy. He wasn't smiling and it gave his face a severe look.

"Why do you think I can answer them?" she asked.

"Because you work with Hotaru-san," Naruto replied, nodding in Hotaru's direction. The hellcat perked up at her name.

"Does it have to do with the demon fox?" she asked. Naruto nodded.

"What do you know of him?" he asked.

"Not much," Hotaru responded. "He's older than me. We used to roam different areas of the earth before we bonded with shinobi. He's a bit insane, but then again, all creatures that have walked the underworld are."

"Underworld?" Naruto questioned. Akahana rolled her eyes.

"Did you honestly think that Hotaru was a regular cat?" she asked snidely. "She's called a hellcat for a reason."

"I guard the entrances and exits to the underworld when I'm not in the village," Hotaru explained. "It's the place where the souls of shinobi go when they die."

There were so many questions Naruto wanted to ask but very few were relevant to his dilemma. However, he wasn't sure how to phrase it delicately. Delicacy had never been his strong point.

"What happens if I manage to release the Kyuubi?" he asked.

"You get applause?" Akahana remarked, not sure where the boy was going with this. "A pat on the back for a job well done?"

"So he won't try to kill me? Or no one else will so they can control Kyuubi?" Naruto asked. Akahana gave Naruto a strange look for a few seconds before she broke out into giggles.

"You don't have to worry about your clan members killing you," she explained. "None of them will want to work with Kyuubi, even if they could. Your bond with the fox is too strong, no matter how much he hates you, and none of them have the strength and determination you have. You're the only shinobi of the fox clan that can work with him as of right now. And, for the record, don't talk about controlling Kyuubi. You work  _with_  him. You don't  _control_  him. There's a difference."

"And what about Kyuubi trying to kill me?" Naruto asked. "I have no reason to believe that he won't. He hates humans."

"I hate humans," Hotaru interjected. "But I haven't killed the redhead yet. And I won't. I've grown up with Akahana just like Kyuubi has grown up with you. Like Akahana said, there's a bond between you two, a bond that prevents the demon fox from killing you."

"If it makes you feel any better, Hotaru tried to kill me the first time I worked with her until she realized that we were bonded," Akahana added. "Is that all you were worried about? I know our village doesn't make the best impression and is obsessed with power plays but we're not stupid enough to kill you just to gain some control. It's too obvious."

"Thanks…"Naruto mumbled. Akahana gave him a tiny grin.

"So are you going to start trying harder now?" she asked. "It was obvious to us all that you weren't really trying. Subtlety isn't really your specialty, you know."

"I know," Naruto admitted. "But that's what makes me the most unpredictable ninja!"

Akahana rolled her eyes and finally decided to stash her kunai away. She glanced at Hotaru, who bared her teeth in a sort of grin.

"Are we still practicing?" the hellcat asked. "You haven't given up yet?"

"I'll see you later," Akahana told Naruto, not taking her gaze away from Hotaru.

"You never answered my first question, though," Naruto pointed out.

"Oh?" Akahana asked, beginning to form the pattern of seals again.

"What was that jutsu supposed to do?" Naruto asked again.

"Fire Style: Blizzard of Flames!" Akahana cried as she finished the sequence. This time, instead of a small circle of sparks, there was a flurry of flames that spun through the air, swirling around Akahana.

"Something to that extent," she said once the last of the flames had faded. "Only much larger. Only the best can master this jutsu."

Hotaru snorted.

"You're nowhere near the best," she informed Akahana scathingly. "You need lots more practice."

The hellcat looked over at Naruto.

"What are you waiting for?" she wondered. "Get to it."

"Get to what?" Naruto questioned. Hotaru growled.

"I don't care. Work on extracting the Kyuubi or work on your jutsu. Just make sure you're doing something," she ordered. Naruto gave her a disbelieving look and when Hotaru ignored it, he turned his gaze on Akahana, who shrugged.

"It's always easiest to do as she says," she told Naruto before she resumed training. Naruto sighed. He might as well, considering he was already at the training grounds.

Naruto sank down to the ground so that he was sitting with his legs crossed. His blue eyes closed as he took deep breaths, trying to find the cage Kyuubi was sealed inside.

It felt like Naruto was sitting for hours before he finally got to the place he was looking for. In the distance he could hear the fox inside him growling.

Naruto walked along the damp sewer, ignoring the water droplets falling to the ground and creating eerie splashes against the stone. The further he walked along, the louder the fox's growls grew. Eventually the looming barred gates came into sight.

Naruto gazed up at them. It was such a large prison. Kyuubi snarled from behind his bars.

"You're not dying or severely injured," the demon fox pointed out. Naruto inclined his head.

"This is the first time you've come to me without needing me to live," the fox continued. Naruto stared into the large red eyes.

"I've recently discovered some things," he said. "About your past."

"So?" the fox demanded angrily.

"I'm currently in the Village Hidden by the Animals," Naruto stated. Kyuubi glared down at the boy. That was impossible.

"That village was destroyed long ago," the fox growled out. Naruto shook his head.

"It was just hidden away," he disagreed. "I've been taken in and put on a shinobi team. They've been trying to get me to bring you out of my body."

The demon fox snorted.

"If it was possible," he informed the boy, "I would have left long ago."

"But I wasn't willing before," Naruto replied. "I'll gladly break the seal now if you promise not to kill me once you're free."

The large demon fox paced in his prison as much as he could. Naruto had never seen the fox move so much.

"Fine," Kyuubi agreed reluctantly. "I won't kill you."

Naruto reached for the seal, prepared to pull it off. However, as his fingers brushed over the corner of the seal, a barrier of chakra emerged, creating a barrier around the seal. Despite numerous tries, Naruto's hand could not pass through the chakra barrier.

He scowled at it.

"I should have known…"Kyuubi growled to himself. "That man would have placed precautions to make sure that you could never release me."

Naruto's scowl deepened and he resumed trying.

Hours later, Naruto had made no progress. The barrier around the seal held firm and strong. It was one of the most frustrating things Naruto had ever encountered. He kicked at one of the sewer walls and the sound that came from the force of his kick echoed down the long hallway.

"Try later," Kyuubi encouraged. Naruto had noticed that the fox was much more polite when he felt like he would benefit. It was a nice change from the normal threats and growls he received. "When you're not so tired."

Naruto nodded.

"Tomorrow," he promised before leaving the sewer.

It was dark when Naruto opened his blue eyes. It had been hours since he had retreated into himself. Akahana was still there, to his surprise, still training. She looked exhausted but Naruto recognized the expression on her face. She wasn't going to give up until she had successfully learned that jutsu.

Naruto wanted to comment but decided it was best not to. Instead, he left the training ground silently, ignorant of the eyes that watched him go.

* * *

A woman hiccupped through her sobs in the corner of the room before she pressed an arm to her mouth. She mustn't make a sound. The intruder might hear her.

It was too late. The intruder heard her and the movement of her arm allowed the killer to pinpoint her location. Quietly, the lithe form approached. The sobbing woman pressed herself against the wall, unable to go anywhere else.

"Why?" she asked as the murdered loomed over her. Cold eyes stared mercilessly down at her.

"Because you're weak. You're clan was weak," came a cruel drawl. "And because I get what I want. By your deaths, I'll get what I want."

"What's that? Blood? Bodies for you to devour? I know your kind. I've seen how much you love devouring your victims," the crying woman spat.

The cruel, high-pitched laugh chilled the air.

"No, my darling," the snake-like woman replied softly, tracing a thin finger down the crying woman's face. The trapped kunoichi shuddered. "The destruction of the village."

Then she struck.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto woke with a start and looked around wildly. At first he wasn't sure what had woken him up but then he spotted Hisano sitting at the end of the bed, poking his foot with a blunt kunai. The blond-haired boy gave a yelp and pulled his legs up against his chest, moving his feet out of range of the kunai.

"What are you doing?" he nearly shouted.

"Waking you up," Hisano replied. "The Day of Trials starts today, so you need to be up earlier than normal. We have something for you downstairs, so hurry up."

Naruto was about to retort back but Hisano was already getting off of his bed and leaving the room. He sighed and rolled out of bed, not even glancing at the clock on his bedside table. He knew it was early but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see just how early it actually was.

"What do you want, old lady?" Naruto asked as he strolled into the kitchen. Hisano gave him a sharp look. From his spot behind her, Michio just sighed.

"The Day of Trials is an important day for the Clans," he said.

"As an active shinobi, you are required to take part, as you already know," Hisano continued.

"The Day of Trials will begin today," Michio took over. "As a member of the fox clan, you must represent us in the best way you can."

"That means winning every battle you can, using every tool you have to the best of your abilities, and looking your best," Hisano finished.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit.

"What do you mean by looking my best?" he asked, suddenly feeling concerned. They weren't going to force him into any funky outfits, were they? He wasn't sure if he could deal with that. He liked his current uniform.

Michio laughed at his reaction.

"Don't worry," he reassured the boy. "It's nothing special, just tradition. Every shinobi that partakes in the Day of Trials for the first time gets a new uniform. Since you're technically family, we figured we should do the same with you."

"Can't have the other clans accusing us of negligence," Hisano murmured. She set a package on the table and gestured for Naruto to open it. He did so, albeit hesitantly.

The uniform he pulled out was almost exactly the same as the uniform he was currently wearing with only a few differences. The blue lining on his jacket was replaced by black and the black extended down his sleeves and the front of his jacket. Under the uniform was a new set of sandals, also black in color. Naruto was surprised by their presence. He hadn't thought that anyone had noticed the bad shape his sandals were in. They were too small and the sole was almost worn out. Naruto would have replaced them long ago but he hadn't had the money at the time.

"Um," Naruto wasn't quite sure how to respond. He had never been given a present of this magnitude. He had always been forced to take care of himself. "Thank you?"

"Represent the fox clan well," Hisano told him sternly. "Whenever you wear this uniform, you fight for the fox clan. This just doesn't go for the Day of Trials but for the rest of your career as a shinobi."

"Wherever that may be," Michio added. Naruto blinked. For the past few weeks, under the intensive training he had been undergoing, he had barely any time to think about Konoha and Jiraiya. He knew he should have left long ago but…

He felt at home here.

The realization hit him right there and then. Naruto had never fully felt at home in Konoha. The civilians and other shinobi had always prevented him from feeling completely safe. Just because he had Kyuubi inside him.

That didn't matter here. It was considered almost normal. Naruto knew that he would eventually have to leave but the longer he stayed, the less he wanted to go. He had hated the village originally—he still did sometimes—but he still felt at home.

Naruto blinked away tears.

"Thank you," he said again, bowing to Hisano and Michio. "I'll do my best today and every day for the rest of my life."

"Change quickly," Hisano ordered. "Your teammates will be here at any time. You shouldn't be late."

Naruto nodded and grabbed the box off the table. He brought it to his room and quickly shed off his old uniform. He was sad to part with it but it was too small for him now. This new uniform looked like it would be a perfect fit, as did his new sandals.

Yuri, Izo, and Akahana were waiting at the outskirts of the fox clan compound, watched carefully by a few fox clan shinobi, who were preparing for the competitions as well.

"About time," Akahana muttered. Naruto ignored her. Yuri looked over the blond-haired boy.

"Nice uniform," she said. Naruto gave her a large grin.

"I'm ready!" he announced. Izo and Akahana scoffed.

"You say that now," Akahana muttered. "Just wait."

Naruto ignored her ominous words. Akahana had been unusually irritable the past few weeks but Naruto figured it had something to do with the Day of Trials. The closer it got, the more irritable she became.

Izo wasn't so willing to ignore her. He had finally gotten fed up with his teammate's attitude.

"What's your problem?" he asked. Akahana avoided his piercing gaze.

"I just have a really bad feeling about this," she muttered. "I keep looking over my information and something tells me that the slaughter of the ferret clan is linked to the Day of Trials. I don't know how, though."

The other three shinobi frowned at her words. Naruto had long ago learned that Akahana often knew information that others didn't. When he had asked Yuri, the medic had called Akahana the "spy" and that was her role in the team. Naruto hadn't learned anything more but it made sense. Even in Konoha, every member in the teams had unique skills they used. Sakura had been adept in genjutsu. Sasuke had been focused more on ninjutsu and Naruto's strength came from taijutsu and his clones. Their strengths made up for the weaknesses of others.

Izo narrowed his eyes.

"How?" he asked. "What's the connection?"

"I don't know," Akahana admitted.

"Then we can't do anything about it," Izo replied. "Though, I suppose we should be thankful. It means less competition for us."

Naruto and Yuri glared at Izo. Akahana looked unsurprised by his comment.

"An entire clan was wiped out and you can only say that it means less competition?" Naruto demanded furiously.

"Try to show a little more respect," Yuri grumbled. Akahana and Izo traded looks.

"It's factual knowledge," Izo replied.

"And it was only a matter of time," Akahana added. "I've said it before and I'll say it again—even an idiot could see that something was bound to happen."

Naruto snorted. He knew Akahana was talking about him.

"Why are we here?" he asked, looking up at the building they stood before. It was the Council Hall, one of the first buildings he had been to in the village.

"The Day of Trials takes place here," Yuri explained.

"Inside?" Naruto asked skeptically. "Isn't that a bit—unsafe?"

Yuri and Akahana laughed. Even Izo gave a tiny smirk.

"The Council Hall is one of the safest buildings in the village," he said. "And the roof opens up so there's more room."

"It does?" Naruto asked. "How?"

"Mechanics," Yuri replied. "The ceiling is made of wood planks that are connected by chains and gears. A shinobi turns a crank and the ceiling will open."

Naruto was mildly impressed. He knew of nothing similar in Konoha.

"Everyone ready?" Izo asked. "Once we go in, we're not allowed to leave until the Day of Trials is over with."

Akahana nodded.

"Ready," Yuri agreed. Izo looked at Naruto, who nodded as well.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he said and prepared to follow Akahana and Yuri inside. Izo pulled him off to the side.

"A piece of advice for the tournaments," Izo informed him. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't win."


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto glared at his teammate as Izo entered the building, quickly catching up to Akahana and Yuri.

"Don't win, huh," he muttered under his breath. "Yeah, right. I'm not a quitter and I won't lose just because someone tells me to. Just wait and see."

Nails digging into his palm and teeth clenched, Naruto trailed his team into the building.

This Day of Trials was incredibly well organized, Naruto had to admit. Just by looking around, he could see different stations set up to keep track of which shinobi was participating in which event. Hisano and Michio were there to direct him to the shinobi he needed to talk to.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Michio said in a short voice. "Participating in the challenge."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had been told that only the strongest shinobi of each clan participated in the challenge. Did Hisano and Michio really consider him to be that strong?

Hisano glanced at the suddenly tense boy and drew him off to the side, letting Michio complete the rest of the registration process.

"The fox clan doesn't have very many in the way of numbers," she explained. "The few shinobi we have in our clan are participating in trials by combat. The others we have are too young or too inexperienced right now, so there's only you and Daisuke to compete in the challenge."

Naruto nodded in understanding. Hisano looked away from the younger shinobi.

"Don't worry," she added as she began to walk away. "For you to advance very far would be considered a miracle. We aren't expecting very much."

Naruto pulled a face as she turned her back on him. Michio tossed him an amused glance, as if he knew what the vixen shinobi had said. Naruto approached when the man beckoned in his direction.

"How many are competing?" Naruto overheard Michio asking the proctor, who glanced down at the papers in front of him.

"So far? Sixteen," he announced. "And since we're done with registration in a quarter of an hour, it'll probably stay at that number."

Michio's eyes narrowed.

"So few?" he asked. The proctor shrugged.

"A few of the clans were spooked off by the attacks, I assume," he informed the auburn-haired man. "And a few have refused to answer because they either have no chance at claiming the title or because they think that the challenge is rigged.

Naruto's eyes widened but he bit his tongue. A rigged competition? Michio nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I can see where they could form that opinion," he said in a conversational tone. "After all, the past Soshikage's have been from either the cat clan or the wolf clan for the past dozen or so Day of Trials."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he quickly did the calculations. If the Day of Trials happened every two years, then that would be over twenty years. Yeah, he could see where the other clans got that opinion as well.

"The names will go on the board when registration closes," the proctor informed Naruto. "You'll find out who your opponent is then."

Naruto nodded curtly and turned away. He spotted his teammates standing off to the side, looking in his direction expectantly. Upon catching his gaze, Izo beckoned him over.

"All set?" Yuri asked as Naruto approached the three. The orange-haired shinobi nodded.

"So do we just wait now?" he asked. His teammates nodded and Naruto's head dropped a centimeter in disappointment. He hated waiting.

"Shouldn't be too long, though," Yuri said. "The proctors are careful about keeping everything on time. The trials start in the outside arena in fifteen minutes and the challenge will start soon afterward."

Naruto blinked in surprise.

"There's an outside arena?" he asked. Akahana rolled her eyes.

"Pay attention to your surroundings," she muttered acidly. "Just be lucky Hotaru hasn't been summoned. She'd want to flay you alive right now." Izo snorted and Naruto glared at the redheaded girl, who scowled back.

"Get along," Yuri muttered. "We're a team so let's look like one to the rest of the village."

Izo nodded in agreement. Akahana gritted her teeth and turned away.

"Should we make our way to area set aside for us?" Yuri asked when it became apparent that no one was going to say anything else. "I'm sure there are others already there."

Without waiting for a response, she took the lead. Izo quickly caught up to her and Naruto began to trail behind. He glanced back at Akahana who hadn't moved.

"Coming or what?" he asked. Akahana scowled

"I'll catch up," she said sharply. "I just need to do something first." She spun on her heel and walked away, ignoring the looks shot in her direction. Naruto just sighed at her testiness. Why did he always end up having to deal with the testy females? Was it just a girl thing? But then, that didn't make sense because Naruto could never remember Hinata being irritable.

When Naruto stepped into the waiting area, thirteen pairs of eyes focused on him. On the opposite side of the room, a red-haired man nodded at him. Naruto returned the nod, recognizing the man as Daisuke, the other fox clan member participating in the competition, and settled next to the door, trying not to shift uncomfortably under the attention. Eventually the attention shifted away from him.

"Is the roster up yet?" someone asked to break the silence. Naruto's gaze snapped to the speaker. He vaguely recognized the speaker as Miyu, a member of the wolf team. Naruto took a careful glance at the shinobi in the room. His eyes widened as he realized that he knew all of them. He had trained against them all at one point during his stay.

The door slid open and Akahana quietly stepped in, barely sparing a glance at the room's occupants. Following behind her was someone Naruto didn't recognize. Izo's eyes narrowed upon sight of the newcomer.

"Saya," he muttered. "Snake clan."

The woman following Akahana nodded.

"Glad to see you still remember me," she said in a chilly voice. "It's been a while since we've sparred, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Izo agreed. "Why is it that the snake clan hasn't been seen lately? We feared that you had been attacked as well."

Even Naruto could pick up on the false tone in Izo's voice. The woman, named as Saya, narrowed her black eyes. Naruto peered closer at her. She seemed familiar with her thin face and sharp angles, though Naruto couldn't place her face.

Akahana stepped away from Saya. She seemed more nervous and testy than ever.

"Is the proctor here yet?" she asked Yuri, who shook her head.

"Any minute now," she said quietly. "Are you—" Akahana cut her off with a curt nod.

"Nothing happened," she muttered quietly. "I just needed to take a breath and unfortunately ran into Saya." Yuri gave her a skeptical look but said nothing. Naruto felt confused. Was all of Akahana's irritability a matter of nerves? That didn't seem like the girl at all.

Akahana rested against the wall next to Naruto. The orange-haired shinobi could hear her muttering under her breath.

"Atsuo, Rikiya, Saya, Izo," she was listing off. "This won't be like four years ago. It won't be nearly as easy."

Her words brought back a memory for Naruto.

" _She brought our clan great glory four years ago,_ " Yuri had said. Had Akahana won the competition back then? Or had she done something even greater?

The door opened one last time. A pair of shinobi stepped in and quickly counted the members in the group.

"Since all of you are here, we can begin," the first shinobi said. "The first battle will become momentarily, so I hope you're prepared. I'll call out the roster and my partner will send you out when it's your turn."

Everyone nodded.

"Miyu of the wolf clan against Tobikuma of the dragon clan," the proctor announced. "Atsuo of the wolf clan versus Daiki of the eel clan."

The second proctor stepped up to announce the next two battles. "Saya of the snake clan against Yuri of the cat clan. Izo of the cat clan against Shiyo of the frog clan."

"Naruto of the fox clan versus Fukuyo of the wolf clan," the first proctor continued. "Kotori of the bird clan against Daisuke of the fox clan." Naruto shot a glance at Fukuyo. She was a relatively nice girl and Akahana seemed fond of her, despite the rivalry between their two clans. Fukuyo had been one of the first to truly accept Naruto, besides Yuri.

"Finally, Rikiya of the wolf clan against Shouta of the dragon clan and Akahana of the cat clan against Kazuki of the bear clan," the second proctor finished. "Represent your clans well."


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto didn't pay much attention to the first two battles. He knew that he should of but he was too nervous for his own. He looked on but the only things that stuck were the results of the battles. Miyu and Atsuo had won, both of the wolf clan. Naruto didn't look at the other clans. He already knew that they weren't going to be happy that the wolf clan already had two members in the next round. It gave them an advantage over the other clans.

One thing that Naruto did manage to pick up on was that the battles were brutal. There was only one situation where the referees would step in—when a contestant faced death. However, that limitation didn't prevent Atsuo from forcing his opponent to be carried from the arena.

Yuri's battle was third. Naruto still couldn't figure out her opponent, the girl named Saya. He was positive that he had seen her before but he couldn't figure out where. He hadn't heard much about the snake clan, just that they kept mostly to themselves. According to Yuri, they used to be one of the top clans in the village but a disease had wiped out nearly three-fourths of their clan. It had been untreatable, according to her but a sour look on Akahana's face told Naruto that may not have exactly been the case.

Yuri faced Saya in the arena, mentally taking a note of all she knew about the snake clan member. She was obviously strong, judging by her confident entrance in the competition. She was venomous and, if Akahana was to be trusted, slightly on the sadistic side. She preferred to break her opponents down slowly and to watch the hope fade from their eyes. She also used snakes as her main line of attack.

Saya was smirking in an unnerving manner, already confident in her win. Yuri's eyes narrowed. She may lose but she wasn't going to lose without putting up a decent fight. She had to prove to Akahana and Izo that she was up to their standards.

When the signal was given, Yuri attacked first. Starting on the defense would be the quickest way to lose this battle.

Yuri had summoned three of her cats—Tatsu, the largest of her summons; Hinako, the quickest and Takahiro, the first she had summoned when she had become a shinobi. Before the battle, they had twined around her legs, spitting and hissing as they looked at Saya. Now they leapt into action.

Tatsu took a frontal approach, knowing that he would be too noticeable if he tried a stealth approach. Hinako slipped off to the side, hoping to sneak around to the back of Saya at the first opportunity. Takahiro stayed next to Yuri, claws unsheathed.

Saya hadn't been predicting Yuri to go on the offensive right away. She had sent all of her snakes out as an offensive attack, not keeping any back to defend herself.

Tatsu used his size and weight to his advantage. Snakes couldn't bite when their heads had been crushed. The spines that didn't crush under his pounces were snapped by some sharp nips. Yuri had yarned Tatsu before they entered the arena that the snakes wouldn't be able to attack him easily if he stayed just behind their heads.

Saya screeched as she felt her snakes weaken and falter. It seemed like she would have to take a more direct approach if her snakes couldn't get through.

Yuri's eyes widened as Saya charged. The kunoichi was faster than she had imagined, though Yuri should have expected it. Saya used snakes that struck their opponents quickly.

The cat kunoichi pulled two shuriken out of her pouch and threw them, hoping to knock Saya off her course. As soon as the kunai left her hand, Yuri grabbed a kunai in case she needed it.

She did. The shuriken made contact with Saya's torso but they weren't kill shots. They didn't even go as deep as Yuri expected.

As Yuri raised her kunai in defense, she narrowed her eyes and examined Saya's skin. Now that she was closer, she noticed fine lines under Saya's skin. It looked almost like...

Yuri flung herself back, trying to put some distance between her and Saya. Scales. The kunoichi had scales under her skin. Kunai and shuriken wouldn't penetrate the arteries. Neither would teeth, claws, or syringes. Ninety-five percent of Yuri's arsenal was unusable.

Saya knew she had the advantage now. Her snakes had failed but Yuri didn't have her hidden armor. A happy hiss escape her mouth as Saya withdrew a kunai. Close in attacks would work to her advantage.'

When kunai met kunai, there was a large clang. Yuri felt herself being forced down to the ground but was unable to break away. Her eyes widened as she saw the malicious glint in Saya's eyes. She knew that the snake kunoichi would kill her if she got the chance.

Fortunately for Yuri, as a second kunai was aimed for her neck, the proctors intervened. One grabbed Saya's wrist that held the second kunai and the other pulled Saya away.

"She's done," the second proctor told Saya. "No more."

Saya hissed furiously and she looked like she was considering shoving the proctors away and continuing the battle—an instant disqualification—but she stormed the other way. Yuri let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding in. She slowly got to her feet and tried not to react as Saya was announced as the winner.

Her battle had lasted less than five minutes. It was humiliating how easy she had been defeated. It was like she was a first year shinobi all over again.

Izo's battle followed Yuri's. As the two passed, Yuri couldn't bring herself to meet his cold eyes. She wished she could leave the Day of Trials and lose herself in training but the rules were absolute. She couldn't leave until the Day of Trials had finished. If she did, there was a high chance that her shinobi headband would be taken away, the ultimate humiliation.

Izo's battle last a grand total of two minutes. His opponent, Shiyo, may have been the strongest in his clan but for Izo, he wasn't a challenge. After all, cats hunted frogs for fun.

Naruto wished Izo's battle had gone on longer but he was beginning to realize that he rarely got what he wished for.

"Naruto of the fox clan and Fukuyo of the wolf clan are called to the arena!"

Naruto forced himself to look calm. This was it. He had managed pretty well in the Chuunin exams but the shinobi here fought on a completely different level. If Naruto made it past stage one, it would be a miracle.


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto stood in the center of the arena, trying to hide all signs of his nervousness. He was nervous about numerous things currently. His battle with Fukuyo, which was only seconds away, and the crowd staring down at them were only two of his main concerns.

Izo's words rang in his head.

" _Don't win_ ,"

Naruto gritted his teeth. He barely noticed as red began to tinge his vision as he connected with Kyuubi. The fox within him was longing for a battle.

On the other side of the arena, Fukuyo had noticed that her opponent hadn't summoned any of his foxes. She gestured for her own wolves to leave her. If he wanted a one-on-one battle, he was going to get that, she had decided. Fukuyo, unlike most of her clanmates and the shinobi within the village, took great pride in fighting fairly.

Out of the corner of their eyes, both contestants noticed the signal to start being given. Naruto started off the battle by creating ten of his shadow clones. He had the chakra reserves to spare.

Fukuyo's yellow eyes narrowed and her left hand formed a fist. She pushed it toward the ground, a silent signal for her wolves to attack the clones. Naruto may not have been fighting with his foxes, but Fukuyo had decided that it wasn't fair for her to go up against eleven Narutos.

As the wolves and clones clashed, Naruto had kept one of his clones back to form the Rasengan. Fukuyo's nose twitched as she picked up the scent of the swirling chakra. She had never come across a technique like that but she wasn't surprised. None of the shinobi in the village knew the techniques and jutsus Naruto had learned in Konoha. Very few had bothered to ask and Naruto, in a brief moment of intellect, had decided not to perform any jutsus unless they were absolutely necessary.

Fukuyo pressed her palms together and bowed her head, keeping her eyes on Naruto as she did so.

"Combine with me, inner wolf," she whispered. Her chakra surged, dissolving the clone that had been rushing toward her with a kunai. Fukuyo's eyes deepened from their normal yellow to glowing amber and her canines began to length. She could feel her nails lengthening and fur sprouting along her spine. Her eyesight and sense of smell sharpened, as well as her sense of hearing. Fukuyo gave a wolfish grin.

Kyuubi, picking up on Fukuyo's changes, began to force his way into Naruto's head. It wasn't just enough to connect with the boy. He wanted to destroy the wolf. He knew how wolves saw him. He wanted to prove that he wasn't a lesser being like they believed.

The whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks began to deepen and grow more defined. Naruto's Rasengan disappeared as Kyuubi attempted to take over. Red chakra enveloped the blond shinobi and the shape of a tail began to form from the chakra. In the stands, shinobi inhaled excitedly. The raw power exuding from both of the contestants was something they hadn't felt for a long while. Their summons paced eagerly, longing to return to their primal nature.

Fukuyo attacked first. She lunged at Naruto with a howl. The fox shinobi rushed toward her, teeth bared.

The two shinobi collided, wrestling with each other to gain the upper hand. Naruto was physically stronger, but Fukuyo was faster and more flexible. They attacked each other at full strength, biting and scratching.

Fukuyo saw her opening within a few seconds. She bit into Naruto's arm and directed a kick at his torso. Blood burst into her mouth as Naruto let out a howl of pain. The male shinobi in the crowd winced in sympathy as Fukuyo's kick made contact with Naruto's groin instead of his chest.

Taking advantage of the boy's weakened state, Fukuyo wrestled Naruto on to her back. She wrapped her hands around his neck and began to squeeze.

"Give up?" she asked, voice low and rough, letting up on her grip just enough for Naruto to be able to speak. Naruto glared up at her and his eyes flickered to the stands. He could see his teammates watching him. Yuri was shaking her head at the bloodiness of the fight while Akahana looked bored. Izo looked expectant and Naruto knew why. Izo was expecting him to give up.

"I'm sorry," he growled, "but it's not in my nature to give up and let someone else win. Especially not for someplace like this."

With a sudden flood of strength, Naruto pulled his hands from where they had been pinned under Fukuyo's knees and pushed the girl away. The wolf clan shinobi tightened her grip on Naruto's next but it was useless. Naruto's hands were now free and with the distance Naruto had put between their bodies, Fukuyo couldn't overpower him with her limited strength.

Izo sighed as the boy continued to fight. He didn't understand why Naruto had to make things so complicated. Couldn't he just lose? It wasn't like the Konoha shinobi was fighting for the pride of his clan.

Naruto placed one of his hands on Fukuyo's chest and pushed her away from him. His other hand wrapped around her hands, trying to pry them open from around his neck. Kyuubi directed his chakra to flow through the boy's hands.

Fukuyo screeched in agony as the influx of chakra began to burn her skin. To protect herself, she released her grip on Naruto's neck.

The fox shinobi took a deep breath and shook his head. Fukuyo was gripping her chest but when she pulled her arms away, extensive chakra burns in the shape of a handprint were visible. Fukuyo growled in Naruto's direction, which was enough to encourage him.

Naruto lunged forward and wrapped his hands around Fukuyo's neck, pushing his chakra outward. The wolf kunoichi let out a silent screech as the chakra burned her skin. Her amber eyes rolled back in her head and she fell limp.

Naruto stepped back, releasing her neck from his grasp. A referee stepped in to examine Fukuyo.

"Unconscious," he muttered a moment later. Naruto sighed in relief and pushed Kyuubi to the back of his mind. He hadn't wanted to kill Fukuyo but he hadn't been thinking the clearest during the battle. He was still trying to find the balance between Kyuubi's natural urges to kill and his own rational thinking. More often than not, Kyuubi tended to take over.

As the referee stepped away, the announcement was made.

"Winner—Uzumaki Naruto of the Fox Clan!"


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto barely paid attention to the battles that came after his. He knew he should have been watching his potential opponents and how they fought but he couldn't bring himself to focus. Kyuubi was trying to force his way into Naruto's head again and it was a constant battle between the fox and his jailer. Kyuubi was determined to start what he had finished. He wanted to kill Fukuyo, who was currently being treated by the medics.

"Eat this," Yuri said, forcing a small pill into Naruto's hand. "Congratulations," she said as an afterthought. "It's the first time someone that hasn't been from one of the larger clans has made it past the first round in a few years."

"Why is that?" Naruto asked, examining the pill in his hand.

"A majority of reasons," Yuri said.

"How's Izo taking it?" Naruto asked. Izo's words still rang in his head.

"How am I taking what?" Naruto turned to look at the member of the cat clan. Izo's eyes were cold and his arms were crossed. Izo looked fully recovered from his battle.

"My win," Naruto replied coolly, "After all, you told me to lose."

Yuri looked at Izo, in disapproval. She wasn't surprised by his actions but she didn't like them.

"I told you that because there's a certain order to these things," Izo replied. "A shinobi of a lesser clan shouldn't win this."

"Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"Because the clan wouldn't be able to defend themselves if a larger clan decided to attack. They would be slaughtered and there would be a civil war to determine the next Soshikage."

"So I should have lost so a member of a larger clan could win and so I wouldn't upset your stupid status quo?" Naruto demanded. Izo nodded and Naruto scoffed.

"That's not the way I do things," Naruto grumbled. Izo walked away.

"Take the pill," Yuri urged. "It'll speed up the healing process and give you some strength. Trust me. Everyone else has taken them."

Naruto looked at the pill skeptically but tossed it in his mouth and swallowed it. If it were poison, Kyuubi would just nullify its effects. He trusted the fox to keep him alive.

Yuri winced as she saw the deciding blow of the battle that followed Naruto's out of the corner of her mind. Kotori of the bird clan had triumphed over Daisuke of the fox clan.

The next two battles were over fairly quickly. Rikiya of the wolf clan was victorious, to no one's surprise. Rikiya was one of the budding stars of the bear clan. Losing was never an option for him. However, Yuri could see how fighting Shouta had disturbed the wolf shinobi. They had been friends growing up before clan divisions had torn them apart and Akahana had told her one day that Rikiya was in love with Shouta, despite the dragon clan member being engaged to a dragon kunoichi. Romance and love didn't last long in their village. Clan boundaries and arranged marriages often got in the way before it could gain a foothold.

Naruto was faintly amused when he spotted Akahana in the ring, facing her opponent, who was twice the size of her. However, despite having size on his side, Kazuki of the bear clan didn't have the speed or strength to back it up. He was also reluctant to go near Akahana and Hotaru, which was a deciding factor in his loss.

Izo gave Naruto a smug look when Akahana won. Of the eight battles, seven of the winners were from the larger clans in the village. Only Naruto was from a lesser clan.

An hour passed after the last battle before the referees summoned them to explain the second round. The hour break, Yuri explained to Naruto, was to give the contestants time to rest and get their strength up. It was also so the medics could ensure that all of those who lost in the first round were stable or could be transferred to the hospital if necessary.

The remaining eight gathered in a small room, out of sight of the watching crowd. The proctors didn't waste any time. Once all eight were in the room, they began explaining.

"You'll draw a number out of this bag. The number you draw will represent which battle you will fight in. If you draw the number two, you will fight in the second battle."

Simple enough.

"Once all the numbers have been drawn, we'll call you one by one out of the room. You'll show us your number and we'll guide you to a room. In the room will be a locked door that will be your entry into the ring. Once it is time for your battle, we will unlock the door, which will be your signal to begin."

One of the shinobi doing the explaining held a bag out to the eight contestants. His face was covered by a raccoon mask. One by one, the eight drew their numbers.

Naruto reached in when it was his turn and drew a slip of paper out of the sack. On it was written a bold number 3. Looking around at the group of eight, he finally realized that his opponent could be anyone. He wouldn't find out who it was until he entered the ring.

"Remember, anything goes," the shinobi in the raccoon mask said. "Fight well and bring honor for your clans."

As the shinobi left, the eight contestants looked at each other, sizing up their possible opponents. Naruto tried to hide his nerves as he felt multiple pairs of eyes on him. He was the only unknown in this competition, as this was his first year in the tournament. Everyone else had competed at least once before, even if they hadn't made it past the first round. They had been judged before.

Naruto was the first to be called out of the room, to his relief. He showed the proctor his number. The shinobi nodded and led him through a series of hallways. Finally, they reached a room where the number three was painted on the door.

"Good luck, Fox-san," the shinobi muttered but Naruto could tell that he didn't mean it. He knew that most people already doubted that he would continue on to the third round.

Well, he would have to prove them wrong.

The waiting was torture for the impatient fox shinobi. At times, he could hear the announcer but he had no real idea of what was going on outside the room. He didn't even know how much time had passed since there was no clock in the room.

Finally Naruto heard the door unlock. Now was the time. Now he would find out who his opponent was. Naruto's hand went to his kunai pouch and he prepared to spring forward as the door slid open. In a flash of smoke, he was in the middle of the ring, looking around wildly to find his opponent, who was waiting in the shadows around the edges of the ring. Naruto's throat tightened as he recognized the face. In the background, he could hear the announcer calling out their names to the watching crowd.

"Uzumaki Naruto representing the fox clan versus Hi Akahana representing the cat clan!"


	17. Chapter 17

Naruto dodged out of the way as Akahana attacked. She hadn't waited for him to fully gain his bearings before starting the battle.

Naruto tried desperately to put some distance between himself and Akahana to start making a plan of attack but he had underestimated how fast she was. He couldn't remember her ever moving this fast during training. Apparently she had been holding back.

The fox shinobi growled to himself. Of course she had been holding back. Unlike Yuri, Akahana had let clan boundaries hold her back. Anyone who wasn't a member of the cat clan was a potential enemy and she was the type that wouldn't let her enemies know what she was truly capable of. It didn't matter if they were teammates. As long as Naruto wasn't a member of the cat clan, Akahana would never fully trust him.

Chances were that she was still holding back, since she was in front of a crowd.

Naruto sighed to himself. It looked like he was going to be on the defensive for the majority of this fight. He hoped that he could at least get one decent hit in. He doubted that he would be able to perform any jutsu.

The fox shinobi dodged a kunai and stumbled over a large object. Hotaru. How could he have forgotten Hotaru?

The hellcat lunged for him and Naruto rolled away just in time. He did not want to be on the receiving side of Hotaru's attacks. Her claws were as long as a kunai and just as deadly.

"What's the matter?" Hotaru purred as Naruto got to his feet, only to be forced to dodge Akahana once again. "Can't keep up with the big girls?"

Naruto growled and tossed a shuriken in Hotaru's direction. The hellcat leapt out of the way, making it look effortless. Naruto winced as Akahana landed a punch in the middle of his back. How had she gotten behind him? It had been a while since he had taken a beating this bad.

"Giving up?" Akahana asked as she landed a barrage of punches on Naruto's shoulders and stomach. Now she was in front of him. Her speed was almost unnatural. Had she been moving this fast when she faced off against Kazuki? Naruto groaned in pain.

"Never," he spat as he got to his feet and dodged a fist to the chest. In retaliation, he lunged forward and kicked. His foot made contact with Akahana's midsection, throwing her backwards across the arena. Naruto quickly created a dozen or so clones, taking advantage of the time it took for Akahana to recover. It wasn't much but now with his clones, he stood a better chance against her and Hotaru.

Naruto switched places with one of his clones and let the clone take the lead with the attacks. Hopefully it would confuse Akahana, as the clone he had chosen would hang back and try not to get hit by any direct attacks.

Akahana barely blinked.

"Try something original," she growled as Hotaru leapt forward, pinning clones underneath her large paws and biting at any who got too close. Soon it was done to Naruto and his head clone.

Akahana looked between the two for a second before completely disregarding the clone. Naruto's eyes widened as Akahana appeared in front of him and didn't have time to duck the fist aimed for his face.

As Naruto skidded across the ground, Hotaru was upon him. Naruto cried in pain as her claws ripped into his skin. Hotaru dragged her paws down, peeling his skin away from his midsection. Naruto gasped in pain as he felt the claws dig in deeper. If Hotaru wanted to, she could easily slice open his stomach and let his organs spill out onto the ground.

Akahana pressed a foot onto Naruto's throat. Naruto tried to wrap his hands around her foot but Hotaru growled warningly. Any sign of attack would mean that ripping Naruto open was fair game for the hellcat.

"Surrender?" Akahana asked, knowing that it wouldn't matter. The referees were already making their way to her and Naruto, preparing to interfere. She had won.

She just wanted to hear Naruto admit it too. She wanted to hear him surrender.

Akahana pressed harder on Naruto's throat when she didn't receive an answer. In five seconds the referees would be upon them.

Four.

Three.

Naruto nodded quickly. Akahana smiled to herself and stepped away from Naruto. One of the proctors knelt beside the boy once Hotaru went to go stand beside Akahana. He quickly gestured for the medics.

Akahana glanced at the second referee, waiting for the announcement.

"He surrendered," she reminded him in a sharp tone. The proctor nodded quickly.

"Winner: Hi Akahana of the Cat Clan!" he announced to the crowd. Akahana turned away and went back through her door. If she got to the stands quick enough, she would be able to see the outcome of the fourth battle.

Naruto tried to protest as the medics carted him out of the ring but he was unable to stand on his own, so there was no other choice. Hotaru had really done a number on him.

Yuri was waiting for him, along with Daisuke, Hisano, and Michio.

"That was…" Daisuke began and trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Pathetic," Hisano filled in. "She's your teammate. You should have known her attack style well enough to land a few more hits."

"I tried," Naruto protested. Yuri hid a smile behind a professional mask. She had informed the other medics that she would be taking care of Naruto. She had the experience, after all.

"You're lucky that cat of hers didn't rip you apart limb from limb," Michio commented. "I've seen Hotaru do that a few times. It never looked pleasant."

Hisano rolled her eyes and Daisuke hid a smile behind a hand.

"It didn't feel pleasant," Naruto agreed. Already he was feeling better as Kyuubi and Yuri helped the healing along. "What were the outcomes of the first two battles?"

"Izo naturally won his," Yuri informed Naruto. "He was up against Miyu."

"And the snake won hers. She was up against that girl from the bird clan, Kotori," Michio said. "Their battle was much like yours. Kotori didn't stand a chance. She was in worse condition than you."

"Some of the medics are suspecting poison," Yuri added.

"So that leaves who?" Naruto asked.

"Atsuo and Rikiya. That'll be a close one," Daisuke said. "It won't help that they hate each other for some reason. It'll be brutal."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. At least now he could rest. He may have lost a battle for the first time in a while but now he didn't have to worry about the whole 'bringing glory to his clan' thing anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Naruto was cleared by Yuri to go back into the stands, Atsuo and Rikiya's battle was over. Rikiya was surrounded by medics in the middle of the arena. Apparently it wasn't safe to move the bear shinobi yet. Blood was spattered all over the arena, proof of a gory battle.

Yuri sat next to Akahana and Naruto sat gingerly next to Yuri. His stomach was still sore from Hotaru's claws. Naruto glared at the hellcat, who was sleeping at Akahana's feet.

"Enjoy getting your ass kicked?" Akahana asked crudely. Yuri glared at the red-haired kunoichi.

"We'll see what happens next time," Naruto retorted. His teammates looked surprised by his retort.

"Next time?" Yuri asked quietly. "So, you're…"

Naruto looked at her in confusion.

"I'm what?" he asked.

"Sticking around," Izo supplied. "We thought that you would leave eventually."

Izo sounded disappointed that this wasn't going to be the case. Naruto blinked at his teammates in shock. Had he really made it sound like he was going to stay?

Most days, Naruto didn't even think about Konoha. He was content enough with his life in the Village Hidden by the Animals that Konoha and Sasuke and Sakura and Kakashi-sensei seemed like a distant memory. He only really thought of Konoha when a new letter from Jiraiya came in.

Did Naruto want to leave? As a shinobi of Konoha, Naruto knew that he had to. He couldn't abandon the village he had sworn to defend.

However, he didn't want to leave his family. Sure, it was dysfunctional but Hisano and Michio and the rest of the fox clan was still his family. And he couldn't tear Kyuubi away from his home. The fox demon had already gone through so much.

"Naruto-san?" Yuri prodded, still waiting for an answer. Naruto looked at his teammates.

"I'll have to leave eventually," he muttered. "But I'll only leave once Kyuubi and I are separate beings."

"So, that would be a  _never_  then," Akahana said dryly. Naruto glared at her.

"You don't think I can?" he asked. Akahana smirked.

"I just kicked your ass," she reminded him. "You still have a ways to go before you'd have enough power to even attempt separating Kyuubi from yourself."

Naruto growled but before he could reply, Akahana and Izo were summoned by the proctors for the third round.

"I didn't know that leaving was an option," Naruto admitted to Yuri once they were gone. "Everyone was so determined to keep me here."

"At first," Yuri said quietly. "Hisano and Michio wanted you to get to know your family. However, you could have left weeks ago and no one would have protested. But Naruto-san…"

Yuri looked unsure of herself.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You are a shinobi of another village, correct?" Yuri asked. Naruto nodded.

"And yet, you fought today as a shinobi of the fox clan. When you accepted the uniform and registered today, you became a shinobi of our village."

Naruto stiffened when he began to understand what Yuri was trying to say.

"I'm a shinobi of two villages now?" he asked. Yuri nodded.

"Eventually you're going to have to choose one over the other," she pointed out. "Will you be prepared to make that choice when the time comes?"

"I'm always going to be a shinobi of Konoha," Naruto said quickly. "This—" he cut himself off. He was going to say becoming a shinobi of the Village Hidden by the Animals was an accident, a mistake, but it would have been rude to say so in front of Yuri.

"This what?" Yuri asked. Naruto sighed.

"I don't understand your customs and half the time I feel like I have no choice in what I'm doing," he told Yuri. "I probably would have never been here today if I knew that by participating in this that I would become a shinobi of this village."

Yuri nodded. She had thought so.

"Well, let's hope for your sake that your first village and our village never face each other in war or battle," she stated. "Your chances are high, though, seeing as our shinobi haven't left the forest in years."

Naruto grinned.

"So how does the rest of this thing work?" he asked.

"This thing?" Yuri questioned. Naruto nodded.

"The whole competition thing," he said.

"The final four go up against each other. There's no longer any one on one battles. Last one standing is the winner and their clan picks the next Soshikage," Yuri explained. Naruto looked down at the four contestants who were entering the ring.

"Isn't it a little unfair right now, though?" he asked. "After all, the cat clan has two in the ring. That gives them a fifty-fifty chance, right? And what happens if Akahana and Izo are the final two?"

Yuri winced. Yes, most clans would see it that way. Especially the wolf clan, who were determined to win this year.

"They would still fight it out," Yuri said, deciding to answer the easiest question first. "Both of them have too much pride to call it a truce. Then we would have to listen to Akahana bragging if she won or Izo being unbearable if he won. Izo has a better chance, in my opinion."

"Besides, it doesn't mean that they'll win," Yuri protested quietly, deciding to tackle Naruto's first question. She knew that she couldn't say anything that would make this situation. She was a member of the cat clan, after all, and she would reap any advantages that came with having her clan head as Soshikage.

"But it also doesn't mean they won't," Naruto pointed out. "And what will happen if Akahana or Izo win?"

Yuri already knew. The other clans would claim an unfair advantage. They might even refuse to recognize the Cat Clan's claim to the Soshikage position. She could see the Wolf Clan doing that. And if they refused…

Civil war. Yuri shuddered at the thought.

"Let's not think about that," she said and directed Naruto's attention to the beginning battle.


	19. Chapter 19

The four contestants stood in the center of the arena, equally spaced. Akahana and Izo barely glanced at each other, choosing instead to focus on their other opponents. There was already a silent agreement between the two shinobi of the Cat clan that they wouldn't attack each other unless they were the only two left.

Even then, Akahana knew how things would turn out. Izo was the leader of their team for a reason. Her win four years ago had been a fluke, no matter what the others thought. Izo had made a mistake back then, allowing her to move on. He wouldn't make that same mistake again. Even with the help of Hotaru, Akahana wouldn't be able to win.

Atsuo and Saya glared back at the other two shinobi. Akahana and Izo would be their targets if given the choice. It wasn't fair in their minds that there were two cat shinobi present.

The proctors stood off to the side for the final battle. They didn't want to be in the way when the four shinobi began to attack to each other. In the past, the final battle had proved to be deadly.

A gong rang throughout the city, signaling the start of the final battle by beating four times. The onlookers leaned forward in their seats, eager to see the final results of the Day of Trials.

It was impossible for the onlookers to tell who struck first. Akahana and Atsuo clashed in the center of the ring, kunais locked together. With sheer strength, Atsuo could have overpowered Akahana but the kunoichi rolled away, breaking free from the obvious trap. She couldn't win with strength, so she would have to use other means.

As she scrambled to her feet, Akahana felt a presence at her back and dodged to the left. She flung her arm up and diverted a kunai aimed for her spine. The blade grazed her arm but it was better than being paralyzed. Akahana tugged on the arm gripping the offending kunai and yanked hard. Saya attempted to keep her balance but it was no use. She hadn't expected her kunai to miss its target.

Saya tumbled forward and Akahana surged to her feet, leaping backwards as soon as she got the chance. The cat kunoichi continued moving backwards until she had reached the arena wall. There she knelt and allowed Hotaru to lick her wound clean. She didn't want anything foreign getting into her system. With Saya being of the snake clan, there was a high probability of the kunai being coated in poison.

Akahana scanned the arena. Saya's momentarily loss of balance had subjected her to Atsuo's attacks. Izo was nowhere in sight, but she could see a few of his cats prowling along the side of the arena. She wasn't reassured. She would rather that all her opponents were in view, instead of hiding.

The ground exploded in the center of the ring. Akahana flinched as rocks pelted her skin. The force of the blast was strong enough that the sharp edges of the stones created little cuts in her arms and legs. Once the dust began to settle, Akahana narrowed her eyes.

Izo stood in the center of the arena, unharmed. A smug smirk was on his lips and his eyes were cold. It was clear that he had been the one responsible for the attack. Akahana growled and Hotaru's claws unsheathed at the new threat.

How long had Izo been hiding that maneuver from her? Where had he even learned such an earth attack? For as long as she'd known him, Izo always seemed to favor water style attacks.

Atsuo and Saya had taken the full blunt of the attack and it showed. Atuso's left arm had torn up to the bone. The entire right side of his body was covered in severe burns, if there was any skin at all. Akahana winced. Those wounds would take weeks to heal.

Saya was in no better condition. Half of her face looked like it had melted. Only a scant inch of her hair remain. She seemed to be having trouble breathing. Akahana took note of a kunai lodged in her right side, just below the ribcage.

"Good thing you weren't still there," Hotaru murmured. Akahana hummed in agreement. If she had been just a few seconds slower, she would have been just as badly injured.

"Well, time to take someone out," she muttered, reaching for a handful of shuriken. She wouldn't spend the rest of the battle hiding in the corner. It wouldn't be honorable.

Akahana rushed forward but halted mid-stride as Saya straightened, pulling the kunai out of her side. As the weapon dropped to the ground, the kunoichi reached up and tugged at the melted skin. It peeled off easily, revealing a fresh layer of skin.

"Of course," Akahana murmured. "Snakes can shed their skin."

In the crowd, a pair of blue eyes widened as Saya tossed away her damaged flesh. The new skin was tinted green with black marks. That much was clear even from so far away.

 _The girl from the forest_.

Naruto poked Yuri.

"Those marks on her skin. Are they tattoos?" he asked. Yuri shook her head.

"Scales," she murmured. "Everyone knows that the shinobi of the snake clan undergo a special ritual upon receiving their headbands to gain an armored layer of skin. It's usually hidden by other layers of skin but if necessary, they can shed those layers to protect themselves or to make them look more fearful."

Naruto refrained from saying that he hadn't known that. Apparently he wasn't 'everyone' but he was beginning to accept that. The blond-haired shinobi turned his gaze back on the contestants in the arena. His blue eyes narrowed. It was nice to have a name and a clan to put to the kunoichi that had attacked him and Jiraiya so many weeks ago. The kunoichi that was responsible for him ending up in the Village Hidden by the Animals.


	20. Chapter 20

Naruto sprinted toward the edge of the village, where the forest loomed in the distance. He needed to get there in time…He needed to reach the forest edge before the others.

Yuri was ahead of him, head constantly looking from side to side. Even Naruto was able to notice how paranoid she was. Of course, he couldn't blame her. She was in more danger than he was, after all. Any member of the cat clan was in danger now.

No one could have predicted the events of the past few minutes. Naruto was sure that there were shinobi in the village who had no idea what was going on. Well, they would find out soon enough from either their clans or their enemies.

_Thirty minutes prior_

Akahana gritted her teeth and readjusted her grip on the kunai in her hand. Saya was healing quickly, thanks to the shedding of her old skin, but that made no difference. The red-haired kunoichi would still finish her off.

She would deal with Atsuo later. He was weakened now, so he was less of a threat.

The cat kunoichi was less than a meter away from her target when she had to change her path. A snake lunged from the ground, where its brown skin had allowed it to blend in with the dirt. Hotaru hissed in warning as she spotted the venom the snake was spraying in the air.

"Get back!"

Akahana didn't heed the warning. She pressed forward, gritting her teeth against the pain as the venom landed on her skin. It burned like acid.

Saya's eyes widened. She hadn't expected her opponent to continue moving forward.

Izo watched the two kunoichi clash together, throwing punches and dodging kicks, before making his own move.

Akahana spotted the shuriken out of the corner of her eye and turned her body to the side so it was shielded by Saya's back. The snake kunoichi's eyes widened as she felt the bladed points pierce her back. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes met Izo's.

"Attack!" she hissed to her snakes but all but one was already pinned down. How had the cats managed to find them? The snakes' camouflage should have been perfect.

Akahana coughed out a laugh.

"They've been trained since birth to hunt out things hidden in plain sight," she explained before delivering a vicious punch to Saya's stomach. As Saya was flung back, Akahana used her other hand to rap the girl's temple hard with the handle of a kunai. The kunoichi was out cold before she hit the ground.

Izo gave his teammate a quick nod before both of them turned their attention on Atsuo. The wolf shinobi gave a bitter laugh.

"Two against one, eh? I'm not sure that's really fair."

The members of the cat clan watching the battle from the crowd cringed. The wolf clan shinobi stirred in frustration as they recognized the truth in the statement.

It was clear how this battle was going to end. It didn't matter to most of the shinobi who the final winner was. They just cared about which clan the Soshikage was going to come from and now they knew that they would have the same Soshikage for the next few years.

Yuri scanned the crowd, looking for resentful faces. She saw them everywhere and it wasn't just the wolf clan that seemed unhappy. Most of the clans were unhappy with this outcome. She shifted in her seat, ready to run if needed.

Naruto shot her a curious look.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Yuri opened her mouth to reply but a flicker of movement caught her eye.

"The Soshikage!" she gasped, turning to watch. Her gasp drew the attention of those surrounding her.

With the help of Kyuubi, Naruto was able to spot the Soshikage. The man looked furious and he held a shinobi from the wolf clan by the neck. There was a kunai lodged in the Soshikage's shoulder. It had been destined for a vital point but had been missed.

"The wolf clan attacked the Soshikage!" a shinobi cried from a few rows above Naruto and Yuri.

"It would have been good riddance," someone else murmured. The sound of a blade being drawn rang through the air. A quick glance around the stands showed Yuri that similar scenes were happening all over the place.

Yuri gripped Naruto's arm as cries of hate and outrage began to overwhelm the shocked screams at the sight of the Soshikage being so blatantly attacked.

"We have to get out of here," she murmured to her teammate.

"And go where?" Naruto demanded. "Don't you want to stay and fight? The Soshikage is a member of your clan, isn't he?"

Yuri's eyes flashed in anger.

"I'll die to defend my village but I'm not going to die needlessly over clan politics," she hissed. "Now let's get moving before the fighting truly starts."

"What about Akahana and Izo?" Naruto asked. "You're just going to leave them behind?"

"They'll have a better chance of getting out than you and me if we're still trapped in here in the next few minutes."

Naruto hesitated.

"Naruto," Yuri warned. "This is going to turn into a massacre really soon. We need to get out while we still have the chance. I believe in their abilities and we've made plans in case something like this happened. Now either come with me and live or stay here and get slaughtered."

The kunoichi began to run as the first signs of fighting began. A quick glance back showed that Naruto had chosen to follow her.

_Present time_

They had reached the forest. Naruto shook his head to get rid of the memories.

"What are these plans that you've made?" he asked.

"There's a place inside the trees that we've determined as a meeting place. Once we're all together, we'll evaluate the decision and make the best decision. We'll head back to the village if there's any chance that we'd be able to help. If there's not…" Yuri trailed off and a sad look crossed her face.

"We go outside the forest and try to live as civilians in another village. However, we'll only do that if it becomes clear that the cat clan will not survive."

"You'd abandon your own village?" Naruto asked. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the thought of abandoning his village—either of them.

"Preserving the legacy is more important," Yuri said in a dull voice. "The legacy of the cat clan must live on, no matter the cost. Doesn't Konoha have any clans with legacies that must be protected?"

Naruto immediately thought of the Sharingan and the Byaakugan.

"I'm sure things won't be that bad," he tried to assure Yuri. "Maybe this will end quickly. It probably won't be as bloody as you're imagining it will be."

Yuri gave the blond-haired shinobi a sad smile. She appreciated what the boy was trying to do but she knew better.

"Let's go to the meeting spot. We need to wait for Akahana and Izo," she replied.


	21. Chapter 21

Akahana and Izo weren't at the meeting spot.

Naruto knew he shouldn't have been surprised but he had a feeling of dread when he saw that there was no one there to meet him. Yuri looked uncomfortable at having arrived first but she didn't seem particularly worried. She seemed more distracted than worried.

"Yuri?" Naruto asked hesitantly. There was no sign that she had heard him. Instead of speaking again, Naruto looked around and examined his surroundings. They were still outside the village but the undergrowth of the forest wasn't thick. They were nearer to the edge of the forest then. However, Naruto hadn't been here before.

That was surprising. Naruto had patrolled the forest boundaries around the village multiple times. He thought he knew the area well.

Apparently not.

"We're not at the edges," Yuri said. "This is the closest this forest comes to a clearing once you get a few minutes in. This is the back of the Deer compound. Akahana found it a few weeks after being named a kunoichi."

Naruto stared at Yuri. How had she known what he was thinking?

Yuri gave him a weak smile.

"You're such an open book," she told him. "It's not proper for a shinobi to be so open."

Naruto grimaced. Izo had frequently lectured him with those same words during his first few weeks with the team.

The pair waited in silence for nearly an hour before they heard other signs of life. To keep himself occupied, Naruto scrawled a note to Jiraiya, letting his mentor know what was going on. Just in case Naruto couldn't get out in time, Jiraiya deserved to know what had happened. Under the ruse of going to the bathroom, the Leaf shinobi sent the message out with one of his toads.

After that, Naruto tried not to think of what was going on inside the village. He had a feeling that whatever was happening was worse than whatever his imagination could come up with.

Instead, Naruto decided to sharpen his kunai and shuriken, even his spares. They had dulled somewhat over the past few hours and he hadn't sharpened them before the Day of Trials. However, he felt that now was the best time to fulfill that task.

Sharpening his kunai ensured that Naruto had one in hand when he and Yuri heard rustles approaching them. Naruto held his kunai in an offensive position while Yuri tried to figure out who was approaching by the distinct sounds of the rustling and by the smell in the air.

"It's Izo," she announced, a fraction of a second before the approaching figure reached the clearing. Naruto didn't relax until he confirmed it for himself that it was Izo.

The newly arrived shinobi looked around the clearing. A faint light of surprise entered his eyes.

"Akahana and Hotaru aren't here?" he asked.

"Were they supposed to arrive first?" Yuri asked, a troubled look entering her eyes. She approached Izo to examine his wounds. Most were superficial but there were a few on Izo's thighs and chest that looked like they were causing him trouble.

"I had assumed," Izo whispered. "She managed to get out of the arena before I could."

"What about the others in the arena?" Yuri asked. "Saya and Atsuo?"

"Atsuo joined his clanmates," Izo said in a resigned voice. He hadn't expected anything else. Wolves were loyal to a fault, he had learned over the years. "Saya woke up and got out shortly before Akahana did."

"How bad is it?" Yuri asked quietly.

"Worse than we ever could have expected," Izo replied, closing his eyes. He opened them immediately, not liking the memories that came to the forefront of his mind.

Civil war wasn't enough to explain what was happening inside the village. Frustrations had built up so far that Izo suspected that no one would be safe, not even those unable to defend themselves from shinobi. There were already shinobi that had proven they were willing to wipe out entire clans, including the children and elderly.

"We should go back and help," Yuri said. "We can't just sit back here and do nothing." She knew that preserving the clan was important but she had been trained to heal. She couldn't leave while others were being hurt and killed.

"We need to wait for Akahana," Izo replied.

"And if she doesn't show?" Yuri asked.

"She will," Naruto stated. Akahana was one of the strongest kunoichi in the village. She had to come join them.

For once, Naruto and Izo seemed to be in agreement.

"She got out," Izo murmured. "There's no way she wouldn't come."

With those words, Izo brushed away Yuri and went to stand at the edge of the clearing. He assumed a defensive position and settled in to wait.

Yuri looked between the two males and gave a soft sigh. Neither was going to move until Akahana and Hotaru showed up. She could only hope that their last teammate arrived before someone else discovered them.

Night had nearly fallen when Izo suddenly tensed up.

"Two figures approaching," he stated. "One's ahead of the other, like they're being chased."

The hopeful glint that had appeared in Yuri and Naruto's eyes faded. Akahana and Hotaru usually traveled side by side, not one in front of the other. It still could be them but it was highly doubtful with Izo's words.

A figure burst into the clearing and had to change directions in midair to miss being hit by Izo's kunai. It was Akahana. She cursed as the kunai grazed her skin.

"That better not have been one of your poisoned ones," she snapped to Izo as Hotaru barreled into the clearing. "I only have enough antidote for one person and I don't want to choose between me and Hotaru."

Izo raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't," he said. "What happened to Hotaru?"

"Saya happened."

"She attacked you?" Izo's voice raised in surprise. He hadn't expected anything like that.

"She massacred the deer clan just now," Akahana explained. "She's the one that's been behind all the massacres."

"You saw this for yourself?" Izo demanded. Akahana nodded and began rummaging through the pack where she kept her kunai and emergency medical supplies.

"I followed her out of the arena on a hunch," she said while pulling out a vial and a syringe. The liquid in the vial went into the syringe with practiced hands. "I saw the results of the previous massacres. This was the same as those. Unfortunately she caught us as we were trying to escape without notice and poisoned Hotaru in the process."

While she was talking, Akahana used the syringe to inject the antidote into Hotaru's blood system. Hotaru's breathing eased after a few seconds.

"It was brutal," Akahana said. "The Deer Clan never stood a chance. She clearly mastered the process before she started targeting the larger clans."

"She should be eliminated," Izo said quietly.

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. Izo was talking about killing off someone from his own village.

The Leaf shinobi hated these types of situations. A comrade had to be taken down or else they would wreak more havoc. Saya could not be allowed to become the next Orochimaru.

"Is getting rid of that problem more important than going back to the village and getting the children out?" Yuri asked. "That's what the Soshikage directed us to do in case something like this would happen."

Izo was silent for a few minutes as he weighed his options.

Then he spoke.

"We eliminate Saya."


	22. Chapter 22

"You want to eliminate me?" A voice cut through the clearing. "Do you really think that you will be able to do that? Two of the apparently best shinobi in the cat clan had to pair up to take me out. I don't think you'll be able to do that again. You're all worn out."

Saya stepped into the clearing. Naruto could smell the blood she carried on her from the most recent massacre. He could see the bloodstains that had seeped through her black shinobi gear and onto her skin.

Blue eyes narrowed. Naruto was slowly beginning to recognize Saya, though he still couldn't figure out where he had seen her before.

Saya licked her lips, an action which caused shivers to run up Naruto's spine. The Leaf shinobi forced himself to remain still. He wouldn't be frightened by Saya.

Still, she reminded him a lot of Orochimaru right now.

Saya's skin began to take on a greenish tint and scale-like features. Naruto's eyes widened as he could finally recognize her. This was the kunoichi he and Jiraiya originally confronted. She was the reason that Naruto had ended up in the village.

"You," he breathed.

"So that's how you've been doing it," Izo remarked. "The forbidden techniques. You do realize that they're forbidden for a reason, right?"

Saya hissed in derision.

"Like that would stop me," she said.

"I thought the forbidden scrolls for the snake clan had been lost," Akahana stated, eyes flickering from side to side, trying to figure out ways to prevent this from becoming another massacre.

"We had copies," Saya replied. "As soon as the other clans found out that ours had been lost or stolen, they began to underestimate us and think of us as weak. Why would we give away that secret when it put us in a position of power over the other clans. Of all the clans whose scrolls had been lost or stolen, we were the only ones that thought to make copies."

"Not the only one," Akahana muttered under her breath. She was aware of at least two other clans that had copies. She spoke louder. "If I remember correctly, the snake clan hasn't had any true power in the village for the last decade or so."

Saya hissed angrily. Her skin turned greener and the scaly features became more prominent.

"What's she doing?" Naruto asked Yuri in a quiet voice. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, not after remembering what Saya was capable of. The memory of her turning into a snake was still quite vivid.

"Turning into a snake," Yuri sighed. "In the past, shinobi from the village were known to be able to manipulate their chakra and take on the form of their clan's animal. It fell out of practice, though, because it can only be done a handful of times before the shinobi is either stuck in that form permanently or the strain becomes too great on their organs and they give out. I don't know how many times she's done this before, though. That would give us an idea of how strong she'll be."

"She did it once before," Naruto said. "She attacked me before I was brought into the village."

Akahana overheard his words and gave Saya a feral grin.

"Once before, huh?" she asked.

"Every shinobi is able to do so?" Naruto asked. Yuri shook her head.

"Only the strongest," she said. "It's supposed to be extremely painful and strenuous. I don't think you would be able to do it, nor would Akahana."

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"You have the Kyuubi sealed inside you," Yuri explained. "Having him sealed inside of you altered your chakra system the tiniest bit so that most of the village's advanced techniques wouldn't work for you. Akahana and Hotaru have the same bond. If Akahana really wanted to, she could seal Hotaru inside of her, like with the Kyuubi. Instead, she allows Hotaru her freedom."

Naruto didn't mention that Hotaru had more control over Akahana than Yuri thought. He didn't need the glare from Akahana to know that it was something he should keep silent about, especially in front of an enemy.

Izo rushed at Saya, apparently sick of waiting and talking. He narrowly dodged a nest of snakes that lunged at him from the trees. Naruto looked around. The areas nearby Saya suddenly seemed to be covered in vines that he knew weren't actually vines. He had seen this before.

Akahana and Hotaru followed Izo's lead. They hoped that a three-pronged attack might be successful. Working in a pair had taken down Saya before.

Drawing a kunai over the top of her lower arm, Yuri used the blood drawn to draw a summoning seal.

"Naruto, summon some foxes and give me one of the trap plans," she called. "We need to make it so she won't be able to retreat."

"Can you do that?" Naruto questioned. "You weren't taught to trap."

"We were," one of Yuri's cats yowled. "And most of the foxes were. We'll figure out something."

Still not quite understanding how this was going to work, Naruto obliged and summoned as many foxes as he could.

"Suzu," he said, spotting a familiar one in the midst. "Do you know how to trap?"

Suzu nodded.

"Of course," she said.

"Then help Yuri. I have to stay here and help the others."

Suzu looked over at Izo, Akahana, and Hotaru. The fight had just started and already they looked pretty battered.

"Good luck," she yipped. He was going to need it.

"Fire cyclone!" Akahana cried as she completed her seals. Eleven fiery tornadoes began to spin around her. When they reached the proper size, Hotaru dropped back and directed them towards Saya. As they raced toward her, the tornadoes left a trail of flames.

"I'll make sure the traps aren't burnable," Yuri stated before disappearing after the group of foxes and cats.

In an attempt to get out of the path of the burning cyclones, Izo dodged to the side—right into the path of a snake. He didn't have time to spot it before the snake had darted at him and was able to land a bite on his thigh. Cursing himself for being careless and slipping up, Izo dispatched the snake with a kunai.

"You dare?" Saya hissed, only partially transformed. Naruto knew that her transformation would be complete in under a minute.

"It's war," Izo replied. "The rules don't matter anymore."

"Fire Style: Blizzard of Flames!" Akahana tried to take advantage of Saya's distraction but her attack fell short. It could only take care of the snakes that were closest to Akahana.

Naruto looked around, feeling helpless. Saya had seen most of his attacks. Judging by the way she was just letting him stand there, she obviously didn't consider him much of a threat.

"Tap into your inner strength!" Hotaru yowled at Akahana. "Become a hellcat!"

Though her words were meant to help Akahana, Naruto recalled his first lesson.

Become the fox.

He took a deep breath and began to listen. After the past few weeks, it was easy to find the fox within him and listen to the Kyuubi as his chakra began to work in synchronization with Naruto's own chakra.

"Let me out," the Kyuubi hissed. "Rip of the seal, kid. Otherwise you're going to die."

"The others can handle it," Naruto said, trying to ignore his steadily reddening vision. "It could kill me to let you out."

"You were willing to do it before," the demon fox snapped. "She'll kill the whole village if nothing is done soon. Including the fox clan. Including Hisano, Michio, Daisuke and Kouzan. Do you really think the others can last, especially if they won't go to the extremes that snake is willing to go to? Do you want the blood of the entire village on yours hands?"

Naruto hesitated before gritting his teeth. Izo had been bitten and it was clear the venom was affecting his skills as a shinobi. Akahana would run out of chakra reserves quickly, especially if she kept on using her bigger attacks. Yuri was still working on the traps with her cats and Naruto's foxes to make sure that there was no way Saya would reach the village alive if she managed to win now. Hotaru had the best chance of getting to Saya but even she wouldn't be able to do so alone.

Yuri came into view and nodded in Naruto's directions. The cats she had been working with had unsheathed claws and were ready to fight. The foxes Naruto had summoned began to circle him.

"Keep an eye on me," Naruto told them, loud enough for Yuri to hear. She looked at him, wondering what Naruto was planning on doing. He had the same look in his eye that Akahana got when she was about to do something crazy.

Inside his mind, Naruto reached for the seal that held the Kyuubi inside. The chakra barrier sprung up once again. This time, Naruto reared back a fist and punched the barrier as hard as he could.

It shattered.

Without hesitation, Naruto ripped off the seal and unlocked the doors to the fox's cage.

"Don't let me die," he said.

Yuri cried out in shock as Naruto's body suddenly collapsed. A large form burst out of his midsection and went straight for Saya.

Hotaru yowled and she followed Kurama as he attacked Saya. Akahana went to Izo's side, looking for the pouch where he kept his common antidotes and restoratives. Yuri rushed to Naruto and tried to feel for any kind of pulse.

There was none.

From the edge of the forest, Jiraiya looked up as a large form broke through the tree line. He had seen that form before.

The Kyuubi.

"Well, that's not good," he said before rushing into the trees. He had to get to Naruto.


	23. Chapter 23

"Come on, Naruto. Breathe!" Yuri muttered as she tried to revive her teammate. She wished that this had happened elsewhere. The kunoichi didn't feel comfortable having her back to the fight. It would be too easy to target her and Naruto now.

Saya hissed angrily as she tried to dodge an attack from the large beasts that had taken over the fight. She just needed a few more minutes and then her transformation would be complete. All she needed was time for her scales to cover her entire body and reach its armor-like capabilities.

It was the nine-tailed beast that was her biggest opponent currently. She didn't need to worry about the shinobi, since they had wasted all their energy. She had expected to face off against them and the hellcat. However, she hadn't expected the blond shinobi to be able to extract the Kyuubi from his body.

Not being able to expect that would most likely be her fatal flaw if she didn't get away soon.

Saya broke away and began to retreat. She hissed in surprise when she passed the clearing boundary and spotted the layer of traps. If she had human limbs, it would be easier to navigate the forest but it was too late now. Saya attempted to slither forward but she was stopped by something putting pressure on her tail and holding her down.

The snake woman looked back and struck. A snarl sounded around the clearing and a large paw struck the snake on the head. Saya's head spun from the force of the blow but she struck again. She needed to get away.

She struck again and again but it seemed to have no effect.

"It's over."

Saya barely had the time to register the words before everything went black.

Hotaru watched the snake-like body collapse, dead. She looked up at the larger being and nodded. The Kyuubi let out a growl and stepped away. Hotaru retreated to find her partner.

Akahana was resting against the tree, looking at the hellcat and fox in silent wonder. She was panting lightly, recovering after her part in the fight.

"Do you have enough chakra?" Hotaru demanded. "Your part isn't done yet. We need to take care of her body so that her secrets can't be replicated and used against us again."

"I have enough," Akahana murmured and approached the body, forming hand signs as she walked. A few feet away from Saya's corpse, a large fireball formed and Akahana blew it toward the body. It didn't take long for the flames to consume the body.

Yuri was vaguely aware of what was going on behind her. It didn't take much for her to realize when the fight had ended. The silence was warning enough and since she wasn't dead within minutes of the silence, she could safely assume that her team had won.

The dark-haired kunoichi blinked and was surprised when her vision blurred. She hadn't realized she had been tearing up.

"Come on, Naruto," she whispered. "Wake up."

Something settled next to Yuri quietly. When she looked over, she spotted Izo and nodded before going back and trying to resuscitate her blond teammate.

Hotaru looked at Kyuubi. She didn't want to deny him his freedom again but the boy wouldn't survive without his presence.

"Go back to him," she requested.

"Not yet," Kurama replied. "There are some things I need to do."

"Go back to him," Hotaru repeated. "Give part of yourself to him so he won't die. He gave you life so you at least owe him that much. You can give him part of your spirit and still remain out here for a few more hours to finish your business."

The two beings stared each other down before the Kyuubi snarled and stalked toward Yuri, Naruto and Izo. He stared down at the boy before bounding away.

Izo stared after the fox in curiosity before he heard a gasp of relief from Yuri.

"He's breathing again," she said and looked around for a piece of cloth to clean up Naruto's face. Izo handed her one and doused another with water. He pushed the headband off of Naruto's forehead and sighed he noticed that it was falling apart. He left the band in Naruto's hair and started wiping the boy's forehead down with the wet cloth in his hand.

"What do we do now?" Yuri asked.

"We should probably return to the village," Izo murmured. "See if we can at least get some supplies and maybe get the children and elders out."

"It'll be a warzone," Yuri said.

"We have to go back," Izo replied. "Akahana's worn out and we need to get medical supplies for Naruto."

"I'm fine," Naruto mumbled, bringing their attention back to him. His eyes were open and he was breathing steadily. "I don't need medical supplies, thanks to the fox."

"It may have escaped your notice, but the fox is currently outside of its normal residence," Izo responded dryly. "You can't rely on it as you have in the past. Now see if you can get up and let's go."

Naruto grit his teeth and ignored the pain in his chest as he sat up and slowly got to his feet. He would keep up with whatever pace Izo set. He wasn't going to show any weakness.

Akahana approached the trio, wiping sweat off the palm of her hands.

"Plan?" she asked.

"Village," Izo grunted. "Supplies, children, and elders."

The red-haired kunoichi nodded before setting off toward the village. She remained in the lead the entire time, Hotaru at her side.

Every movement was painful for Naruto but he didn't let that stop him. Instead, he just focused on keeping his body moving. He tried to ignore the strange feeling that came with not having the Kyuubi residing in him. He was quite sure what had happened but he had a feeling that he was lucky to be alive.

Then they reached the village and Naruto realized just how lucky he was to currently be alive.


	24. Chapter 24

The main street that was normally busy with people was completely empty. The smell of smoke tinged the air, making the team realize that stores and homes were burning.

Naruto looked around, trying to spot anyone. It was unbelievable to him that the main roadway in the village was void of any life besides him and his teammates.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"We'll find them," Yuri said. "Let's check the stores. We need supplies anyway."

She began making her way toward the apothecary directly in front of them but Izo swung out his arm to stop her.

"Wait," he said. He gestured for Akahana to move forward, who obliged. A few feet in front of the doorway, she knelt and examined the doorframe before reaching into her kunai pouch. She withdrew a kunai and cut a thread, before leaping backwards and dodging a barrage of weapons.

"Traps?" Yuri questioned.

"Owners don't want shinobi not from their clans to get to their surplus of supplies," Izo explained. Naruto overheard Akahana mutter a crude phrase under her breath. Hotaru, standing beside Akahana, flicked her tail against the kunoichi's legs in silent reprimand.

"So clearly stores are out," Naruto commented. "Unless you know of any that you could get access to."

All three of his teammates shook their heads.

"Our businesses aren't on the main street," Izo said. "Let's move on and get into a less open area. We're too easily noticed here."

"The compounds?" Yuri suggested.

"I know of a supply stash in the Fox Clan compound," Naruto said. His teammates traded looks.

"Naruto, there's a good chance that they won't let us into the compound. We're not from the Fox Clan," Yuri pointed out.

"Then I'll go alone," Naruto said firmly. "It won't take long. Besides, my compound is closer."

"Wolf shinobi incoming," Hotaru spoke up. "Two minutes out. They reek of blood."

"It's the best chance right now," Izo muttered. "Let's go before they show up."

It was only a matter of minutes before they were at the Fox Clan compound. Naruto instantly covered his nose at the smell of blood. There had been an attack here, not that long ago. Without thinking, Naruto rushed in.

Akahana and Izo traded looks while Yuri sighed. Izo sighed as well before following after Naruto.

"Should we go after them?" Yuri asked. Akahana shook her head.

"We move on," she decided. "Go to the neighboring compounds and find anyone looking to escape the village. We'll leave clones that will tell us when they come back."

It hadn't been an attack, Naruto realized as he approached the main house. It had been a massacre. The bodies had been piled in the middle of the compound, as if they had been tossed there after being killed. All showed signs of having put up a fight before dying. Counting the bodies, Naruto realized that most of the fox clan was there.

Hearing someone come up behind him, Naruto turned, kunai in hand. He was just about to throw when he recognized it as Izo.

Izo looked around and gave a low whistle.

"I know," Naruto said. "It's bad." However, he didn't let that stop him from going a few steps further.

A cry in one of the side houses stopped Naruto. There were survivors?

Naruto approached the house and examined it before stepping inside. Izo followed him, checking for traps and preparing to stop Naruto before he ran into anything deadly.

"You're rather reckless, you know," he said dryly. "You don't think before you act."

"Sometimes it's better to dive headfirst into things," Naruto replied.

"Until it gets you killed," Izo muttered. "Which there's a high possibility of now."

Naruto ignored the other shinobi, attention more focused on the cries.

"It's Naruto," he called softly. "I won't hurt you."

"That's not going to work—" Izo started to say but cut himself off when he saw a small shape barrel out a closet and toward Naruto. Naruto grunted as he caught Kouzan. He sighed in relief upon seeing her tear-streaked and dirt-covered face.

"You're alive," Kouzan wailed. "I thought they had killed everyone."

"Who killed everyone?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Kouzan sniffled as she clung tighter to Naruto. "They had their faces covered but they killed Grandpa Michio."

Naruto pursed his lips. He hadn't expected that but he wasn't really surprised. Michio led the clan, after all. Izo looked away from the pair and promptly leapt back. A shuriken landed in the wall behind him.

The telltale thunk of something metal landing on wood jerked Naruto's head up.

"Wait!" he called. "He's an ally!"

"He's from a different clan," Hisano spat. "There's no allies from them now."

"We want to get the children out," Izo said calmly, as if he hadn't just barely escaped being impaled with a shuriken. "It doesn't matter what clan. They don't deserve to go through this."

"It's a little too late for that, isn't it?" Hisano snapped. She threw more shuriken in Izo's direction.

"Hisano!" Naruto called. "Let us get Kouzan out of here. It's not a trap. You can come with if that would make you feel better. He really is trying to help."

"Make sure the fox clan survives," Izo murmured. "The abilities are passed down by females, are they not?"

Hisano hesitated and stared at Kouzan in Naruto's arms before turning away.

"Fine," she snapped and headed into the next room. She picked up a bundle of blankets before turning back toward Naruto and Izo.

"Kouzan, get onto my back," she ordered. "Naruto needs his hands open."

Kouzan obeyed.

"The infant?" Izo asked.

"Takamichi has a sling," Hisano replied in a sharp tone. "You would have seen that in a second when I put it on."

Izo bristled at her tone but remained silent.

"Supplies?" he asked Naruto.

"Don't bother," Hisano snapped. "The ones that came through here made sure that everything was burned before they left."

Izo and Naruto traded looks. They would have to find something else.

"We should catch up with Akahana and Yuri," Naruto said. Hisano stared at him in slight amazement.

"Your entire team is still together?" she asked. Izo and Naruto nodded.

"It's better to work in a team than to go solo in this environment," Izo muttered. "Now let's go."

He was outside of the house before Hisano or Naruto had time to reply. Hisano sighed and gave a slight roll of her eyes.

The entrance to the compound, where they had left Akahana and Yuri, was empty. Naruto looked around nervously. There was no sign of a fight and there was no smell of blood in the air, so he doubted that they had been ambushed.

The blond shinobi glanced over at Izo. If it wasn't for the slight tenseness of his shoulders and his jaw, Naruto would have said that he was unconcerned for the two kunoichi.

"I thought you said that you still had the rest of your team with you," Hisano said.

"They were here," Izo replied, eyes scanning the surrounding area. "They wouldn't just take off."

"Unless they got scared," Hisano muttered under her breath. She jerked in surprise when Hotaru burst from the trees behind her.

"They're coming," the hellcat purred before starting to pace in circles.

"Who's coming?" Naruto asked. He hoped that the hellcat meant his teammates, not someone looking to kill them.

"Who do you think?" the hellcat snarled. "Akahana and Yuri. They've brought company."

"What kind of—" Naruto cut off his question when Izo abruptly snarled.

"Leave it," Akahana snapped as she came into view. "It's better to work in a team than to go solo. I invited her."

Naruto was about to ask who she was talking about when another kunoichi came into view. Fukuyo. The wolf clan kunoichi was carrying a toddler in her arms. Yuri followed her, leading a handful of other children.

"Who's the child?" Izo asked.

"None of your concern," Fukuyo growled. "I don't have to be here, remember. I can leave if you get too nosy."

Izo snorted but remained silent. He got the message. No questions.

Fukuyo looked around. She blinked in surprise at seeing Hisano with Naruto and Izo but gave a polite nod.

"If everyone is here, we should move on," Hisano said. "Are we leaving the village now or do you plan on finding more to join our group?"

The four shinobi stared at each other, debating. Smaller groups were easier to move undetected but if they could save more…

"Hurry up and make a decision," Fukuyo snapped. "We're wasting time." Izo snarled in her direction but seemed to make a decision.

"Into the forest," he said. "That's the easiest way out."

Naruto held back a snort of disbelief. While the forest had become more navigable for him in the past few weeks, it was still a far cry from easy traveling.

They had nearly made it when Hotaru skidded to a stop.

"There's a group of shinobi on our tail," she yowled to Izo. Izo gestured for Akahana and Yuri to go on ahead with the group but Naruto and Hisano skidded to a stop.

"Don't be a fool," Hisano warned. "You don't know how many there are."

"They're just going to keep following us unless someone stops them. It might as well be now before they catch up. Go on, I'll catch up."

Hisano gave the younger shinobi a disbelieving look but followed after the group.

"Don't do this," Naruto said, fists clenching. "Don't try and be a hero."

"I'm one of the best shinobi in the village," Izo snapped. "I can take care of myself."

"But what about your team?" Naruto demanded. "Don't you think we need you?"

"None of them really need me," Izo said. "Akahana will take over in my place."

"None of us need you?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "None of us need you?" He was furious now.

"I don't have any special abilities, Naruto, just the basic clan abilities. It doesn't matter if I don't come out of this. I've done what I can with those abilities but once I'm outside the village, I'll have to stop being a shinobi. That's the only way I'll survive out there but that's worse than death. You understand, don't you? Not being a shinobi would be worse than death for me."

Naruto's fists clenched tighter but he was beginning to understand. He knew that he would rather die than to stop fighting.

"I'm giving them a chance that they might not have otherwise," Izo said. "Someone has to do it and I'm the best candidate right now. Now go and catch up."

Teeth gritting, Naruto turned to go. Before he could sprint off, Izo stopped him by laying a hand on the blonde's arm.

"Naruto," he began. The blonde raised an eyebrow and Izo looked away from those blue eyes. They looked so hopeful. "Will you do something for me?"

Naruto nodded slowly.

"Take care of Yuri and Akahana for me."

Izo swallowed hard, knowing that what he was going to say next would be hard for both of them to hear.

"I don't think—" he began and cut off, unable to form words. He tried again a second time. "I don't think I'll be returning."

Before Naruto had a chance to reply, Izo was gone. All that needed to be said had been said.


	25. Chapter 25

When Naruto caught back up to the group, he was silent. Hisano gave him a concerned look but he shook his head and went to the head of the group, where Akahana was leading the way.

"Izo stayed behind," he informed her when he finally caught up. Akahana faltered for a second and nearly lost her footing before recovering as smoothly as she could.

"He would," she said, voice void of any emotion.

"You knew?" Naruto asked.

"We grew up together," Akahana replied. "He was so concerned with honoring the clan growing up that it would make sense that he would want to—" she cut off and forged ahead.

"Would want to what?" Naruto asked.

"Leave it alone," Akahana warned and took the lead again. Naruto tried to catch up but Akahana was always faster and found easier paths to navigate the forest than he could.

As they got closer to the edge of the forest, the trees grew thinner. A few times there were clearings that looked like they had been knocked over by something large.

Naruto sighed as he saw a large form loom above the trees. The Kyuubi was still outside of him. He had nearly forgotten. The only reminder was the constant pain from his chest and wounds.

Hisano looked up at the giant fox in disbelief. Had Naruto actually managed it?

"Is that?" Fukuyo asked warily. Yuri, at Fukuyo's side, gave a small nod.

"It's a long story," she said.

"One that you aren't willing to tell," Fukuyo commented. Yuri didn't reply.

A while later, Naruto and Akahana sighed simultaneously in relief as they saw the edge of the forest. Naruto could already see the signs of a village in the distant. Was that where Jiraiya had been staying while he had been caught up in the Village Hidden by the Animals?

Akahana beckoned Yuri, Fukuyo, and Hisano over and crouched down. She drew idly in the ground with a nearby twig.

"What is it?" Yuri questioned.

"Don't stop at this village," Akahana said. "Pick up some supplies but as soon as you can, find some villages that are a bit further away. Be cautious of coming across anyone that you know."

"You're not coming with?" Yuri asked, shock coloring her voice.

"Me and Naruto will be close behind. We just have to take care of a few things," Akahana said. She looked toward where they could still see the Kyuubi's form in the distance. The others followed her gaze.

"You'll be careful?" Yuri questioned. Akahana rolled her eyes.

"We'll be fine. We've survived thus far."

"Don't make light of such things," Hisano admonished. "I'm grateful that you've gotten us all out but don't put your life at anymore risk than is needed. We need shinobi to survive and to help rebuild our village in a few years."

"I'll be there," Akahana promised but shook her head when Naruto opened his mouth to speak. She stood up and grabbed his arm.

"Good luck," she said.

"Don't be stupid," Yuri replied. "Either of you."

Naruto started spouting off protests as Akahana dragged him away. The pair watched as Hisano took the lead and led the group off toward the village in the distance.

"You think they'll be safe now?" he asked as he watched them go.

"They should be, especially with Hisano leading them. She's one of the strongest kunoichi I know. I used to look up to her before my mother told me that I shouldn't admire shinobi not from my clan."

Naruto looked at Akahana in surprise. This was the first she had ever mentioned her parents.

"Your mother?" he asked.

"Is not important right now," Akahana sniped. "We need to get the Kyuubi back inside you before your body starts to give out."

"Why can't he be separate from me like Hotaru is from you?" Naruto asked, staring at the hellcat as he spoke. She was sharpening her claws on some trees.

"This was the first time and you were too old," Akahana explained. "Your body grew too dependent on his chakra. You can still separate, I think, just in extreme circumstances and only for a few hours."

Naruto growled under his breath. He wanted to the Kyuubi to teach him jutsu like Hotaru taught Akahana. It wasn't fair.

"He's not going to want to return," Naruto said as they made their way toward the demon fox. "He hates being sealed up inside me."

"I would too," Hotaru growled. Naruto tossed a glare in her direction.

"Hotaru will convince him," Akahana said. "Hopefully."

"Don't worry," the hellcat snarled. "I will." With that she put on a burst of speed and bounded ahead, yowling her entrance.

When Naruto and Akahana finally caught up with the hellcat, she was engaged in a staring contest with the Kyuubi. The fox was lying down with his head on the ground. Hotaru was in the same position. Naruto tried not to laugh when he saw that Hotaru was only half the size of the Kyuubi's head.

The fox's gaze flicked to Naruto and Akahana before going back to Hotaru. He snarled something indistinguishable but the hellcat seemed to understand. She snarled back. Akahana and Naruto watched in amazement as the exchange continued for a few more minutes. Finally Hotaru sat up.

"Start the sealing process," she ordered Akahana. "You remember how."

Akahana rolled her eyes but nodded. She turned to Naruto. "Remember what I'm doing," she ordered. "In case you ever need to do it yourself."

Naruto watched carefully, memorizing the process with the same intensity he had when he had come up with the sexy clone jutsu and when he had memorized how to make shadow clones.

As the sealing process was completed, the seal on Naruto's stomach began to glow. With one last yowl, the Kyuubi was pulled into Naruto with a flash of light. Naruto gasped at the sudden flash of pain that flooded his body before feeling a familiar chakra flow through his body. He could see his wounds start to heal as the demon chakra began to work. While he was distracted, Akahana began the process again. Naruto looked up in time to see Hotaru disappear into a seal on Akahana's upper arm.

Akahana grimaced in pain.

"It never gets any easier," she muttered to herself.

"That's the first I've seen you do that," Naruto commented.

"I typically don't," the kunoichi replied. "But it'll be easier to slip by when it's just me."

"Now what?" Naruto asked. "Are we going to find Yuri and the others?"

Akahana shook her head.

"You aren't," she said. "Naruto, I think it's time that you return back to the village you grew up in."


	26. Chapter 26

Naruto stared at Akahana in disbelief.

"What?" he asked.

"There's no point in you remaining with us," Akahana explained. "You technically never swore to protect the village and your clan is destroyed. Besides, there's a better chance of carrying on the fox clan line if everyone is separated."

"Have you been planning this since we split up from Yuri and the others?" Naruto demanded. Akahana inclined her head.

"It was for the best."

"I never got to say goodbye!" Naruto burst out. "Hisano and Kouzan were my family! Yuri was my teammate!"

"It was for the best," Akahana repeated. "You'll see them again, so there's no need to say goodbye."

"You don't know that," Naruto growled, a red tinge growing around the edge of his vision.

"I know you, though," Akahana said. "You'll find them if you want to see them again and you won't give up until you do. Don't you want to return to your village? Finish up whatever needs to be finished up?"

Naruto grit his teeth but didn't stay anything. The red-haired kunoichi turned away before heading back toward the forest edge. Within a few moments, they had arrived.

Naruto stared at the edge of the forest. For the first few weeks living in the village, he couldn't wait for this moment to come. Now that it was finally here, he was hesitating. There was so many things happening in the village and he didn't feel comfortable living Akahana and Yuri behind, even though Yuri had probably left the village far behind by now.

"What about the village?" he asked Akahana.

"I can't imagine it will be fully destroyed," she replied. "I'm sure some people have plans like ours. Even if it is, I imagine it will be rebuilt in the future by survivors."

Naruto turned to stare at her. Her optimism was unexpected, especially since he had been aware of her pessimistic outlook on the future from the beginning.

"I know," Akahana murmured. "But as long as there's one or two people left, things will be rebuilt and grow again. It's happened before."

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"I'll go find Yuri and make sure she gets out okay with the children. After that, I'll probably come back and see what is needed to be done. I want to make sure Izo's sacrifice wasn't wasted."

"We don't know that he's dead," Naruto said.

Akahana smiled bitterly. "It's better to assume than to not know. It hurts less."

"Will you be okay without Izo? I know what it's like to lose a teammate." Of course the circumstances had been extremely different but it still ached to think about it.

"I don't know."

Akahana sighed before looking around.

"You should get ready to go," she said. "Someone's coming this way."

Naruto followed the direction of her stare and spotted Jiraiya in the distance. He took a step forward but Akahana stopped him.

"Your headband," she reminded him. Naruto pulled out the piece of metal and stared down at the shredded piece of the cloth wrapped around it. It was useless now.

Naruto frowned. It had been a gift from Iruka.

Akahana rolled her eyes and untied her own headband. She slipped the shredded headband cloth from Naruto's hands and replaced it with her own before tucking the shredded piece of cloth into her kunai pouch.

"Take care of that," she told Naruto. "It's practically brand new. I only got it a few weeks ago."

"Come with me," Naruto heard himself saying. "You can make a new life in Konoha."

Akahana smiled bitterly.

"No, I can't," she said. "I would never fit in. And they would never accept Hotaru. I can't keep her sealed inside me all the time. Not after growing up together."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He turned away when he heard Jiraiya calling his name. The blond shinobi nodded to his sensei but when he turned back to say goodbye to Akahana, she was already gone.

The blond shinobi sighed. That was two goodbyes he would never get to say now.

"You're alive." Jiraiya gaped at Naruto. "But the Kyuubi…" Naruto shrugged and forced a grin on his face.

"Come on, Pervy Sage. It's me. What did you expect?"

Naruto stepped out of the forest to join Jiraiya, who was staring into its depths.

"Pervy Sage?" he asked.

Jiraiya looked at his charge. Naruto looked slightly worse for the wear but seemed to be in decent condition.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said. Naruto's grin widened and the two began to move away, in the direction of Konoha. It would take a few weeks of travel but after seeing the Kyuubi outside of Naruto, he figured it was for the best. Their time was nearly up anyway.

Naruto glanced back toward the forest and the village one last time.

"Good luck," he whispered. "I'll be back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sequel will be posted tomorrow. It's title is Born Alliances. Currently it has 13 chapters and is still in progress, so once I post all 13 chapters, updates will be occurring about once a month.


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